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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SPECIAL 

Hygienic I Medical Information 

FOR PARENTS, 

EMBRACING 

HEALTH AND DISEASES OF THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS, 
URINARY APPARATUS, RECTUM, DISEASES OF CHILD- 
HOOD, EVERYDAY EMERGENCIES, HOUSEHOLD 
RECIPES, AND COMMON DISORDERS 
AND WHAT TO DO. 

WITH COPIOUS INDEX AND GLOSSARY. 

BY 

B. M. DEWEY, M.D., 

KNOWN AS THE LIGHTNING LECTURER. 



CHICAGO: 

KNIGHT & LEONARD, PRINTERS. 

'1878. 



ft 



Copyright, 1878, 
B. M. DEWEY, M.D. 



TO MY WIFE, 



WHO, FOR EIGHT YEARS, WAS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN GIVING 

LECTURES TO LADIES ON PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE J 

WHO HAS BEEN MY CONSTANT COMPANION AND 

ASSISTANT DURING THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS; 

TO WHOM I AM ESPECIALLY INDEBTED 

FOR THE LITERARY AND FINANCIAL 

SUCCESS I HAVE ACHIEVED, 

I LOVINGLY DEDICATE THIS VOLUME. 



PREFACE. 



IN presenting the present volume to the public, my 
object has been not so much to present anything new 
as to recast the old. Those hygienic and medical facts that 
every parent should understand, I have tried to classify and 
simplify. I have endeavored to make this work a special 
household guide in health and disease. For the past twelve 
years I have been lecturing on anatomy, physiology and 
hygiene. My lectures have been both private and popular, 
and have been illustrated with a first-class apparatus, con- 
sisting of manikins, skeletons, French models, oil paintings, 
etc. To the thousand and more questions that have been 
asked me during my lecture tours concerning health and 
disease, this volume will be a sufficient answer. 

My lecture experience has taught me what the parents of 
the land are most anxious to know. The anatomical and 
physiological facts are in accordance with the teaching of 
the best scientists of to-day. 

I have been careful of my facts ; fanciful theories have 
been discarded ; superstitious whims have been ridiculed. 
In considering the various topics, my constant endeavor has 
been to use plain language. Technical terms have been 
avoided as much as possible, and those that are used are 
thoroughly explained in the glossary appended to this 
volume. When describing diseases, I have tried to be 
explicit. Remove the cause has been my therapeutic 
maxim. The prescriptions given are in plain English and 
from the best sources. In considering hygiene, science and 
experience both have been consulted. 



D PREFACE. 

The philosophy, dangers and complications of parturition 
have been presented in such plain light, that the mothers of 
the land can easily understand them. Another reason why a 
popular treatise on the reproductive organs is required is 
this, viz: many ladies are dragging out a miserable exist- 
ence on account of the diseases of the sexual apparatus. 
At least one third of the general physician's practice is 
devoted to female weakness. Many ladies have not the 
moral courage to consult a physician, and at the same time 
they are too ignorant of their own organisms and the laws 
that govern them, to obey health laws. False modesty is 
doing the work. Finally, the inroads of the disease "are so 
deep, the sympathetic effects are so extended, the doctor is sum- 
moned. Too late ! he exclaims; all he can do is to alleviate 
symptoms — he cannot cure. Death soon claims his victim. 

The major part of this volume is devoted to the facts and 
phenomena manifested by the reproductive organs of both 
sexes in health and disease. 

Two chapters, viz: the seventh and eighth, of part second, 
are devoted to topics specially important to parents, viz : 
Everyday Emergencies and what to do, and Diseases of 
Children and their cure. 

Chapter ninth is devoted to Household Recipes which 
have been selected from the best sources. 

Chapter tenth is devoted to Common Disorders and 
their treatment. 

This work is designed for the parents of the land rather 
than for the physician; therefore I trust the medical profes- 
sion will be mild in their criticisms, and no physician should 
frown on efforts to popularize science. 

Hoping this volume will prove advantageous and accept- 
able to the public is the sincere wish of The Author. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface, ------ 5 

Introduction, - - - - - 17 



PART I— CHAPTER I. 

SEXUAL PECULIARITIES OF PLANTS AND THE LOWER 
ANIMALS. 

The flowers of the field — what are they? - - 28 

How are plants fecundated ? 30 

Reproductive facts, - - - - - 32 

Hermaphrodite, - - - - - 33 

When is sex first manifested? - - - - 33 

Abnormal sexual evolution, 34 

No sex, - - - - - - 35 



CHAPTER II. 

SEXUAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 

Female organs of generation, - - - 36 

Hymen — what is it? - - - - - 37 

The uterus, _____ 39 

Fallopian tubes, - - - - 42 

The ovary, — structure of the ovum, - - 43 

Corpora lutea, - - - - - - 44 

The egg's journey, - 45 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

GENERATIVE ORGANS OF THE MALE. 

The structure and office of the testicles, - • 48 

The semen, its composition, - - - 49 

Journey of the sperm, and seminal fallacies, - "5° 



CHAPTER IV. 

CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 

Exploded theories, .... ^ 

Theory of to-day, - - - - - 54 

Foetal development, - - - - 55 

Quickening of the child, - - - 56 

Opinion of the ancients, - 57 

The placenta, its structure, - - - 58 

How is the blood purified ? 59 

Position of afterbirth, - - - 60 

Umbilical cord and foetal circulation, - - 61 

Bag of waters, how formed, its office, - - - 62 

Office of amniotic fluid, - 65 

Relation of sac to placenta, - - - 64 

Mystery of twins, - 65 

Number of afterbirths ; Siamese Twins, - -66 

Superfoetation, ----- 66 

Abnormal pregnancy, - - - - 69 

Remarkable cases, - - - - 71 

Duration of pregnancy; when does labor begin? - 73 



CHAPTER V. 

PUBERTY AND ITS PHENOMENA. 

Menstruation, peculiar freaks, - - - 76 

The cause, origin of menstruation, - - 78 

Turn of life, - - - - - 79 



CONTENTS. 9 
CHAPTER VI. 

SIGNS OF PREGNANCY. 

Suppression of the menses, - - - 81 

Nausea and vomiting, - - - -82 

Areolar change, . - - - - - 83 

Kiesteine, - - - - - 84 



CHAPTER VII. 

CHILDBIRTH. 

Midwife to-day; instructions for the nurse; precau- 
tions to be observed, - - - 87 
First signs of labor, - - - - - 88 
Second pains of labor, 90 
Born with a veil, - - - - 91 
How to make an examination, 93 
Care of the child, - - - - 94 
Care of the mother, - 95 
The afterbirth, how removed, - - - "95 
Flooding, and what to do, 96 
Abnormal adhesions of placenta, - - - 96 
How to stop flooding, - 97 
Extreme case ; plugging the vagina, - - 98 
Internal hemorrhage ; binder for mothers, - 99 
Convalescence; precautions, - - - 100 
Lactation and its derangements, - - - 10 1 
Abscess of the breast, - - 102 
Sore nipple, how to treat, - - - 103 



CHAPTER VIII. 

STERILITY. 

Removable cause, - 105 

Causes not removable, - 107 

Impotence of the male, - 108 

General causes of sterility, - 109 



I O CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 

HOW TO REGULATE THE SEX. 

Prof. Thury's theory, - - - - - 113 



Sexual whims, 



114 



Theory of Sixt, - - - - - 115 



CHAPTER X. 

LAWS OF GENERATION. 

Parentage, - - - - - 116 

Mother's relation to child ; husband's duty, - - 117 
Tristram Shandy's opinion, - - - 118 
How to raise healthy offspring, - - - 119 
How to raise intelligent offspring, - - - 121 
How to raise moral, good looking and good natured off- 
spring, - - - - - -122 

Mother's marks, how formed, - - - 123 

Mind influence, - - - - 124 

Faith cures; Bible testimony, - - - 125 

Cases of mothers' marks, - - - 126 

Monsters, how produced, - - - 127 

Dwarfs; offspring resembling lower animals, - - 128 

Opinion of Darwin, Huxley and Agassiz, - - 129 

Frog baby, its history, - - - - 129 



CHAPTER XI. 

HEREDITARY INFLUENCES. 

Heredity of lower animals, - - - 131 

Office of amativeness, ... - x ^ 2 

Horace Mann's opinion, - 132 

Cause of divorces, ----- ^3 



CONTENTS. I I 

Child's birthright, - - - - 134 

Two kinds of sinners, - - - - 135 

Physical conjugal mates, - - - - 136 

Nervous temperament, - - - - 137 

Motive temperament, - - - - 13& 

Vital temperament, - . - - - - 139 

Mental conjugal mates, - - - 140 
Married, but not mated, -.-._- 140 

The picture reversed ; trouble in the camp, - 142 

Intermarriage, - - - - - 143 



CHAPTER XII. 

woman's sexual rights. 

Mother's relation to child, - 145 

Mother a sacred name, ... - ^6 

Limitation of offspring, - 146 

Mothers should have the whole say, - - 147 

Command different now, - - - •• 148 

The doubter answered, - - - 148 

Woman more virtuous than man, - - 149 
Mothers desire children, _•_.-.. i^ Q 

Mrs. Beecher Hooker's views, - - - 151 

How to end the career of the abortionist, - 152 

Miscarriage and its dangers, - - - 152 



CHAPTER XIII. 

miscellaneous questions answered. 

Concerning foetus, - - - - - 155 

Concerning infant, - 156 

Concerning mother, ----- ^g 



12 



CONTENTS. 



PART II.— CHAPTER I. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

Girls' erroneous education, 
Nervous excitements, - - - 

Dress, improper, in childhood, 
Tight lacing, its ill-effects, 
Precautions against disease, 
Pruritus of vulva, 
Leucorrhcea, its history, - 
Vaginal whites and cure, 
Uterine whites and cure, - 
Sunbaths as a tonic, - 
Amenorrhcea, cause and cure, 
Menstruation, tardy, cause, 
Menstruation, suppressed, and cure, 
Menstruation, painful, and cure, 
Menstruation, profuse, and cure, 
Menstruation, vicarious, cause, 
Chlorosis, green sickness, and cure, 
Physometra, cause and cure, 
Uterine dropsy, and cure, 
Uterine displacements, how remedied, 
Womb, anteversion and retroversion, 
Flexions of the uterus, 
Uterine tumors, - - - 

Fibroid tumors, how removed, 
Polypus of the womb, how removed, 
Cauliflower tumor, how removed, 
Cancer of the uterus, no cure, 
Ovarian disorders, their nature, 
Ovarian hypertrophy and atrophy, 
Ovarian dropsy, - 

Is ovarian dropsy ever cured ? 



J 75 

- 176 
176 

- 177 
178 

- i79 

180 

- 181 

183 

- 185 
186 

- 187 
189 
190 
i93 

- 195 
196 

- 19:; 
199 
200 

202, 205 

- 205 
208 
209 
212 
214 
214 

- 216 
217, 218 

- 218 
220 



CONTENTS. 1 3 
CHAPTER II. 

DISORDERS DURING PREGNANCY AND AFTER CONFINEMENT- 

Nausea and vomiting, and treatment, - - 223. 

Wakefulness and headache, - - - - 224 

Cramps; varicose veins, - 225 

Milk leg, cause and cure, - - - - 226 

Puerperal mania, and treatment, - - - 227 



CHAPTER III. 

VENEREAL DISEASE. 

Gonorrhoea, cause, symptoms and cure, - 228, 229 

Gonorrhoea in the female, - - - 231 

Syphilis in the male, ----- 232 

Syphilis in the female, - - _ - 236 

Syphilis in the infant, ----- 238 



CHAPTER IV. 

DISEASES OF RECTUM. 

Constipation, cause and cure, - 240- 

Piles, cause and cure, -'--.'- 242 

Piles, radical cure, - - - - - 245, 



CHAPTER V. 

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 

Gravel, cause and cure, - 247 

Irritable bladder, what to do, - - - 250. 

Retention of urine in the male, - - 251 

Involuntary urination in old age, - - 252. 



1 4 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

RUINOUS HABITS OF YOUTH. 

Masturbation, its effects, .... 254 

Duties of parents, - 256 

Spermatorrhoea, how cured, - - 257, 258 



CHAPTER VII. 

OUR CHILD IS SICK — WHAT IS THE MATTER? — WHAT TO DO. 

Signs of health, ----- 2 6o 

Special signs of disease, - - - - 261 

Hygiene of childhood, - - - - 2 6i 

A warm bath, ----- 262 

Sore mouth, thrush, aphthae, - 263, 264 

Colic, what to do, ----- 265 

Worms, how treated, - 266 

Croup, false and genuine, and cure, - - 267, 268 

Diphtheria, how cured, - - - - 269 

Wetting the bed, - - - - - 270 

Diarrhoea, and remedy, - - - - 271 



CHAPTER VIII. 

EVERYDAY EMERGENCIES, AND WHAT TO DO ON THE SPOT. 

Hemorrhage, how controlled, ... 2 j$ 

Syncope, its cause, - - - - 275 

Fits, how to cure, - 275 

Drowning, restoration, - - - - 276 

Shock of injury, - - - - - 277 

Serpent bites, cure, - 278 

Poisons and antidotes, - 279 

Burns and scalds, cure, - - - - 281 



COJVTExVTS. 1 5 

Lightning stroke, _----.. 282 

Frost-bite, and cure, - - - - 283 

Sprains and Bruises, - 284 

Sunstroke, what to do, --..._ 285 



CHAPTER IX. 

HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. 

Beef tea ; beef essence ; wine whey ; how to take a sitz 
bath; wet sheet packing; dripping sheet, - 286 



CHAPTER X. 

COMMON DISORDERS, AND WHAT TO DO. 

Erysipelas, and cure, ----- 290 

Army itch, and cure, - - - - 291 

Whooping cough, and cure, - - - - 291 

Boils and carbuncles ; epileptic fits ; rickets, - 292 

Chronic nasal catarrh ; chronic skin diseases, and cure, 293 
Rheumatism ; a good liniment for man or beast ; a good 

cough syrup; to purify the blood, - 294 

Chilblains ; sore eyes ; chronic sore eyes, - 295 

Tapeworm specific; bleeding at the nose ; goitre, - 296 
Scald head ; ringworm ; barber's itch ; pimples on the 

face; bed sores, how to cure and prevent, - 297 

Asthma; chapped hands; sore lips; to remove dandruff, 298 
Dyspepsia ; gargle for sore throat ; neuralgia ; earache, 

and cure, ------ 299 

Ingrowing of the nail ; to remove warts, - - 300 

Corns ; heartburn, and cure ; disinfectants for sick room, 301 



INTRODUCTION. 



WHAT IS MAN? 

MAN is a machine — one of the most complex, 
one of the most interesting machines ever 
created ; and that mechanic, who can suggest a 
single change in the structure, relation, position 
or function of any organ or tissue of the human 
system, would be a master mechanic indeed. 
When God created man, he did his best. Man 
stands at the apex of the pyramid of organic 
life ; he wears the crown of creation. 

In the ordinary American watch we find the 
various wheels, levers, etc., nicely arranged to 
give us the accurate time, but when we study the 
human system we- find the various tissues and 
organs more nicely arranged to give us health, 
and thereby happiness. We have to wind the 
watch up every 24 hours or else it will run down, 
so, likewise, we have got to wind our bodies up 
every day or else we will run down, and some, 
these hard times, are not more than one-half 
wound up. 

When we digest our food properly, and exer- 
cise proper care in its selection, we are one-third 
wound up ; when we breathe properly, and all 



I b I NT ROD UC TIOJV. 

» 

the organs of secretion and excretion perform 
their full duty, so that the blood is truly a vital 
fluid, we are two-thirds wound up ; when we 
obey all the laws of the muscular and nervous 
systems ; when mind and body react healthfully 
on each other, then the machine is in good run- 
ning order and truly the body is a fit temple for 
the soul. 

You cannot manipulate any piece of machinery 
unless you understand the relation of the differ- 
ent parts to each other, and the laws that con- 
trol those different parts. The human system is 
the most intricate piece of mechanism ; each of 
its parts is governed by immutable laws. The 
mind is the engineer ; the more knowledge, there- 
fore, imparted to it, the better qualified it is to 
perform the high mission to which it was conse- 
crated by the Creator. 

SCIENCES REQUISITE FOR HEALTH. 

Anatomy and Physiology are true indices to 
rational hygiene. Human anatomy not only de- 
scribes the structure, form, weight, and color of 
the various organs and tissues, but it also points 
out their relations and physical connections. 
Accurate anatomy is the true stepping-stone to 
sound physiology. 

Physiology deals with functions, with laws ; 
it tells the true orifice of the parts anatomy has 



INTROD UC TION. 1 9 

described ; hence we are correct in saying, anat- 
omy deals with matter, physiology deals with law. 
When we are versed in anatomy and physiology, 
then we possess the necessary requisites to be- 
come true hygienists. 

Hygiene, so-called from Hygeia, the fabled 
Goddess of Health, is the art of preserving 
health. Physiology is a science, and requires 
study ; hygiene is an art, and requires action. 
Know the law and comply with it, is the true 
watchword. If you violate a physical law, you 
must pay the penalty in pain and misery ; if you 
obey the law, you will be bountifully rewarded 
with health and happiness. You may violate a 
municipal law, but money and friends may lessen 
the penalty; but if you transgress the laws of 
health, there is no appeal ; your case is taken to 
the highest court at once — the court of the 
Great Supreme. Your Judge is merciful, but, 
at the same time, he is just. He cannot be 
bribed ; he is unchangeable. No point of law is 
questioned ; he is author of all of them. The 
Jury is agreed — he is Judge and Jury both ; the 
verdict is guilty ■; the penalty is pain, disease, and 
perhaps death. The hygienist is the true phy- 
sician. He is a greater benefactor, who prevents 
pain and suffering, than he who restores health 
and cures disease. 

Therapeutics is the art of curing disease; 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

it has reference not only to administering medi- 
cines proper, but it likewise suggests the proper 
hygienic means. The whole material and meta- 
physical world is at its disposal. Hygiene deals 
with health, and prevents ; therapeutics deals 
with disease, and restores; hygiene is the ?iobler 
of the two. 

The therapeutics of to-day is far in advance 
of the past. Pills and plasters are fast becom- 
ing medicinal fossils ; panaceas are extinct ; 
medical superstitions are becoming dissipated 
before the effulgent rays of science. In ancient 
times the comets were indicative of war and 
pestilence ; in ancient times every one at the 
approach of a comet would drop down through 
fear, every form of sacrifice was offered to ap- 
pease an angry Deity. We are not frightened 
at comets now ; we can gaze at these celestial 
wanderers with the same serenity of mind that 
we look at the silvery moon, as it glides along 
on a clear evening. 

Science teaches fear not, all is governed by 
law. The philosopher s stone, that would trans- 
mute the metals, was sought for ages by the 
alchemists in their secret laboratories ; chemistry 
says it is a fallacy. Panaceas were believed in 
for ages and ages ; therapeutics long ago called 
them myths. With the progress of science drugs 
are becoming- discarded. 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

The geologist teaches us there has been a 
gradual progression in animal and vegetable 
organisms, from their first introduction to the 
present, and he likewise informs us that the 
fauna and flora of the past are true indices of 
the physical conditions of the past ; so likewise 
the therapeutist informs us there has been a 
gradual unfolding of remedial applications, and 
that the remedies used in any age truly reflect 
the state of medical knowledge then extant. 
The true physician of to-day refers to the lancet, 
pills and plasters the same as the naturalist 
refers to the monster reptilian forms entombed 
in the rocks, — truly relics of the past. 

TRUE THERAPEUTICS. 

A celebrated French physician on his death- 
bed said, the three greatest remedies for the 
cure of disease are air, exercise and diet; and 
I think if our physicians of to-day would pre- 
scribe more air and less antimony, more exercise 
and less emetics, more diet and less digitalis, 
more sunlight and less sulphur, more quiet and 
less quinine, more water outside and less whisky 
inside, it would be far better for their patients. 

DISEASES CLASSIFIED, AND THEIR TREATMENT. 

If I were to form a classification for diseases 
I would make three grand divisions. My first 



2 2 INTROD UC TION. 

class would embrace those produced by wearing 
out; too much action. The second class, those 
produced by rusting out; too little action. The 
third class, those produced by mental despondency 
or a morbid imagination. 

For the first class I would prescribe rest. 
Have you dyspepsia? Is the mucous membrane 
of the stomach highly excited? Are you subject 
to those sour eructations, that the dyspeptic 
only can experience ? Give the stomach rest 
and not rhubarb; it is the best stomachic. Rest, 
many times, is the best eye lotion, the best 
liniment, the best expectorant. Rest is pleasant 
to take, it requires no sugar coating, it never 
nauseates, homeopathic granules are by no 
means so palatable. 

For the second class, where there is too little 
action, I would prescribe exercise. Each organ 
may at times experience a fit of laziness; it may 
be a lazy liver, a lazy muscle, a lazy brain, and 
there are cases where the whole system is lazy, — 
a general laziness. Exercise is a specific. A 
lazy man is an invalid, and sawdust powders will 
cure him — it is not necessary to take them. All 
that is required is to use the saw long enough to 
produce the powder. 

For the third class, those produced by 
mental aberration, I would prescribe hope. In 
the metaphysical world the therapeutist finds 



INTRODUCTION. 2 7, 

many remedies that will reach the disease when 
all else fails. Faith removes mountains of dis- 
ease ; hope is a tonic ; fear a sedative ; anger a 
cholagogue ; joy a stimulant. 

The true physician should be a metaphysician. 
Body and soul are intimately related ; whatever 
influences the one receives is reciprocated. 

SEXUAL KNOWLEDGE IMPORTANT. 

In no department of science does there exist 
so much general ignorance as in regard to 
sexual matters, — ■ ignorance attended by effects 
not only confined to the sufferer in this world, 
but this same ignorance is transmitting untold 
misery to all posterity. Truly the sins of the 
parents are handed down for countless genera- 
tions. 

When parents thoroughly realize these three 
facts: First, Hundreds are being born daily 
with their moral natures so beclouded, it will 
take a life-time to reclaim them. Second, Idiots 
are being born daily, but little higher in the 
animal scale than the lowest animals, governed 
by instinct more than by reason. Third, There 
are more diseases stamped upon the child in 
utero (before it is born) than it can entail upon 
itself while traveling the journey of life. When 
these three facts are thoroughly comprehended, 
a greater interest in sexology will be manifested. 



2 4 I NT ROD UC TION. 

WOMAN THE HIGHEST CREATION. 

We might compare the whole animal world to 
a pyramid. At the base we will place the polyp, 
the starfish and the shells ; a little higher up we 
find the fishes ; still higher, the reptiles; still 
higher, birds; still higher, the mammalia ; near 
the summit we find man ; but at the very apex 
we find woman. Woman, as a moral and social 
being, occupies a more elevated position than man. 
Geology, physiology, phrenology and history 
confirm this fact. If the ladies of the land do 
not conform more closely to the laws of health, 
they will lose the high estate bequeathed them 
in Eden. Woman should study herself; she 
should thoroughly realize that she is the archi- 
tect of her own health ; that pain and disease 
are the natural sequence of violated law ; it 
makes no difference in the physical effect 
whether the laws are transgressed ignorantly or 
willfully. It is not a frowning Providence, but 
her own sinfulness that is burdening her, with 
such indescribable pain, such complicated dis- 
eases. Nature, and not deformity, is the stand- 
ard of beauty. Strict hygiene is the best cos- 
metic. The rose tint of health is more lasting 
than the roztge tint of the druggist. Lyman 
Beecher truly said, in his address to young men : 
" Young men, take good care of the old ladies, 
for you will have but few old ladies long." 



PART FIRST. 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



CHAPTER I. 



SEXUAL PECULIARITIES OF PLANTS AND 
THE LOWER ANIMALS. 

THE whole material universe is divided into 
two grand classes, viz., the organic and the 
inorganic. The first class includes everything 
that has life, viz., animals and vegetables. The 
second class includes all material objects desti- 
tute of life, viz., minerals. 

There is no better established fact than this : 
that all animals and vegetables are sexed ; that 
is, they are endowed with special organs, or func- 
tions, whose sole office is to propagate their spe- 
cies. There seem to be two elements of character 
stamped on all vitalized beings : First, That force 
which ever strives to preserve self; Second, That 
which is ever struggling to propagate the species. 
Hence we are scientifically correct when we say, 
Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and 
propagation of the species is the second. 

Phrenology teaches us that the first faculties 



28 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

of the mind, with which animals are endowed, are 
alimentiveness and amativeness. In the human 
brain, the organs through which the aforesaid 
faculties manifest themselves occupy the lowest 
range, and they are on the same plane ; hence, 
the perversion or abnormal action of these two 
organs is equally sinful. The drunkard and glut- 
ton are no lower than the libertine. 

I have been told by a reliable and scientific 
nurseryman, that if a tree is injured so that it 
will probably die, its reproductive powers are 
aroused at once, and it will commence bearing 
fruit much earlier than those trees of the same 
age and variety that are uninjured 

This fact shows that if the first law, viz., self- 
preservation, is rendered null and void, the second 
law, viz., propagation of the species, is enforced 
more rigorously. The bible teaches the same 
fact — " Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish 
the earth," is about the first command given. 

THE FLOWERS OF THE FIELD, WHAT ARE THEY? 

The flowers of the field, that are so beautiful 
to the eye, whose fragrance is so pleasing to the 
sense of smell, whose beauty so refines the intel- 
lect and spiritualizes the soul, are, in reality, the 
reproductive organs of the plant supporting 
them. Take the lily and analyze it. The co- 
rolla, or flower proper, is composed of six petals, 



SEXUAL EVOLUTION. 2Q 

or flower leaves. In the center of the corolla 
are six filiform, thread-like bodies, termed sta- 
mens. At the upper extremity of each of the 
stamens is a hollow globular organ, termed the 
anther. These stamens constitute the male or- 
gans of the plant. The anthers are the testes, 
six in number. They form the pollen, which is 
the semen of the plant. The next part of the 
flower to which we invite your attention is the 




pistil. The pistil is the female generative organ. , 
In the lily there is but one, but in some flowers 
there are many. The pistil is a long, thread-like 
organ, arising from the same base as the sta- 
mens. It is longer than the stamens, and towers 
up above them. The pistil is divided into three 
parts, the germ, style and stigma. The germ is 
the part attached to the flower. It contains the 
seed, or rather the rudiments of the fruit in an 



30 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

unformed stage. The germ corresponds to the 
ovary in the animal. The style is a hollow tube 
reaching from the germ to the stigma, or open 
mouth situated at the upper extremity of the 
pistil. The style corresponds to the vagina (or 
birth passage) of animals. The stigma is the 
analogue of the vulva (external organ of gener- 
ation in the female of the higher animals). 

HOW ARE PLANTS FECUNDATED? 

The pollen, or seminal powder of the anther, 
is wafted by the breezes to the stigma, or open 
mouth of the pistil. Thence the fecundating 
powder passes down to the germ, and impregna- 
tion is the result. 

The reproductive organs of plants manifest, 
apparently, many peculiar freaks of development 
and office. In some flowers the stamens are 
sessile ; that is, the anther is in direct contact 
with the base of the corolla, and not supported 
by the filiform body of the stamen. The stigma 
of the pistil is many times sessile ; that is, there 
is no style ; the stigma and germ are in direct 
contact. 

Plants, as a rule, are true hermaphrodites; 
that is, their flowers or blossoms contain both 
stamens and pistils in the same corolla. In the 
hop, strawberry, date, palm, and many others, the 
stamens and pistils are on different individuals. 



SEXUAL EVOLUTION. 3 I 

In setting out hops, they generally plant one 
male hop to twenty female hops. The hops are 
vegetable Mormons. 

Whether the pollen is carried from the anther 
to the stigma will depend very much on the sur- 
roundings, especially the direction of the wind. 
The pollen is many times transported by insects, 
especially the honey bee and the butterfly. 
Where the stamens and pistils are on different 
plants, it is highly important that the plants be 
placed quite near to each other. Fertilization 
would be more apt to be effected if gardeners 
and horticulturists better understood the sexual 
nature of plants and flowers. 

Impregnation sometimes takes place at a 
great distance. 

Mrs. Phelps, in her botany, gives the follow- 
ing remarkable instance : "A curious fact is 
stated by an Italian writer, viz., that at places 
about forty miles distant grew two palm trees, the 
one without stamens the other without pistils; 
neither of them bore seeds for many years ; but 
in process of time they grew so tall as to tower 
above all objects near them. The wind thus 
meeting with no obstruction, wafted the pollen 
from the staminate to the pistillate flowers, 
which to the astonishment of all began to bear 
fruit." 

The vegetable world manifests many curious 



2,2 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

reproductive freaks, but they are nothing com- 
pared with the wonderful, and I might say mi- 
raculous, phenomena manifested by the lowest 
animals in their different modes of propagation. 

REPRODUCTIVE FACTS. 

Agassiz says: "Reproduction by buds occurs 
among the polyps, medusae and some of the 
infusoria, on the stalk, and even on the body 
of the hydra and of many infusoria, there are 
formed buds like those of plants. On close ex- 
amination they are found to be young animals, 
at first very imperfectly formed and communi- 
cating at the base with the parent body, from 
which they derive their nourishment." 

The buds resemble the buds of plants, and in 
time they are detached from the parent and be- 
come separate and independent beings, destined 
to undergo the same metamorphoses as the 
parent. 

Another mode of reproduction is called fissip- 
arous. It is peculiar to the polyps and some 
of the infusoria. In this form, instead of buds 
being formed and then detached, the animal by 
some inherent power is segmented or divided 
into various sections, each section becoming a 
separate being. Any one can satisfy himself by 
experimenting on some of the lowest animals 
that this power of propagating by division is 



SEXUAL EVOLUTION. 33 

possible. If an earthworm is divided into vari- 
ous sections death is not the result, but, to the 
contrary, the injuries are so repaired that each 
section becomes a separate, independent exist- 
ence, manifesting all the powers of the original 
parent. Can anything, apparently, be more 
miraculous. 

HERMAPHRODITE. 

True hermaphrodism is common to plants, but 
in animals it is quite rare, and it is questioned 
by some of our best scientists, whether it ever 
does really exist. 

Some of the lowest animals seem to undergo 
a metamorphosis of sex. For instance, a snail 
may commence its existence as a male, but finally 
is changed into a female, and vice versa ; but 
there are no cases where it is both male and 
female at the same time. 

WHEN IS SEX FIRST MANIFESTED ? 

Carpenter says : " There is but very little dis- 
tinction of sex at first. At the fifth week of 
fetal life it is impossible to prophesy the future 
sex ; but in a short time the divergence takes 
place, and the future development can be pre- 
dicted." 

In most cases of so-called hermaphrodism, there 
is either a deficient evolution of the male organ, 
or an excessive evolution of the female organs. 



34 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

The first is a deformity, the second a monstros- 
ity. In the male the penis may be imperforate ; 
the longitudinal furrow, which, when closed, forms 
the urethra, is open, sometimes its whole extent. 
There are cases where there is a fissure or cleft 
in the scrotum, and the testes are in the hemis- 
pheres on each side of the fissure; there are 
cases where the testicle is found in one of the 
hemispheres, and the ovary in the other. An- 
other peculiar freak is, where the external and 
internal organs do not correspond. The exter- 
nal organs may be those of the male, whereas 
the internal organs are strictly those of the 
female. The Bible says in regard to the Adamic 
creation male and female created he them ; but 
in looking over the peculiar freaks of sexual evo- 
lution, showing, as they do, double sex, science 
would change the pronoun them, to him, or her 
— male and female created he him, or her. 

ABNORMAL SEXUAL EVOLUTION. 

Sir A. Cooper gives a case of a woman 
eighty-six years of age, with elongated clitoris, 
with absence of the vagina. 

A case was presented to the French Academy 
in 1820, as follows: "A young man, a soldier, 
aged 22; the penis was normal ; scrotum empty; 
the testes occupied the position of the ovaries ; 
the uterus was normal, and emptied into the ure- 



SEXUAL EVOLUTION. 35 

thra, at the base of the bladder ; the fallopian 
tubes were imperforate, and the vagina was ab- 
sent. 

NO SEX. 

We have before remarked that all vitalized 
bodies are sexed. They are either male or 
female, or hermaphrodites ; but Dr. Gross, when 
lecturing on surgery, in the University of Louis- 
ville, Kentucky, presented the following case, 
which is the most remarkable sexual freak on 
record : 

The subject had no sex ; there was neither 
penis nor vagina ; the urethra was in its proper 
place ; the clitoris was small, and there was a cul 
de sac, where the vagina normally should com- 
mence ; the nymphse were small, each containing 
a testicle. This person, up to two years of age, 
manifested all the mental characteristics of a 
girl, but at the age of two it rejected its dolls, 
and became masculine in its tastes. 




CHAPTER II. 



SEXUAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 

TO thoroughly comprehend the phenomena' 
presented by conception, pregnancy, and 
birth ; to scientifically understand the diseases 
and dangers to which the procreative system is 
subject, from infancy to old age ; especial atten- 
tion should be, in the first place, devoted to the 
anatomy and physiology of the generative organs. 
We can never understand disease until we first 
understand health. If our physiology is imper- 
fect, to the same degree will our pathology be 
incorrect. Health is the base line ; disease, in 
its protean forms, is a departure. Health sprang 
from God ; pain and disease are self-inflicted. 
Science confirms the saying of the apostle, " The 
wages of sin is death." 

FEMALE ORGANS OF GENERATION.* 

The first organ to which I invite your atten- 
tion is the vagina (birth passage). It is a mem- 
branous canal leading from the vulva (external 
organ of generation) to the uterus (womb). It 

*For illustration see appendix. 



SEXUAL ANATOM7' AND PHTSIOLOGT. 2)7 

is situated between the lower portion of the 
bladder and the rectum. Its walls are composed 
of muscular and erectile tissues, which, at times, 
become quite rigid. This canal varies in length, 
from four to six inches ; the vulval extremity is 
somewhat smaller than the uterine. The vagina 
is lined with a mucous membrane, similar in 
structure to all membranes that line cavities con- 
necting with the external world. In this mem- 
brane are situated a great many mucous follicles, 
or glands, whose normal office is to secrete mucus 
to lubricate the membrane in a state of health. 
These follicles, in a state of excitement, throw 
off so much secretion that it has been considered 
to be the semen of the female, because it resem- 
bles the semen of the male so closely. That 
there is anything like seminal emissions in the 
female is a fallacy, and is not a peculiar freak. 
This mucous membrane is the part diseased in 
leucorrhcea, or what is commonly termed the 
whites. 

HYMEN, WHAT IS IT? 

As we pass from the vulva toward the uterus, 
there is, in the virgin, a refolding of the membrane, 
forming a partial, and, in some cases, a complete 
septum across the vaginal canal. .This mem- 
brane, when existing, is situated near the external 
outlet. 

It is a fallacy to suppose that a virgin must 



38 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

possess an imperforate hymen. More or less 
apertures naturally must exist in it, especially 
after the age of puberty ; for, if such were not 
the case, it would be impossible for the menstrual 
secretion to escape. In married ladies there 
exist numerous papillae on the mucous mem- 
brane of the vagina, just where the hymen was 
originally attached. These papillae are termed 
the carunculce myrtiformcs. 

Freaks of development are sometimes seen in 
this part of the generative organs. There have 
been cases where the vagina is wholly absent. 
Imperfect development is by no means so rare. 
I will give a case to the point: Dr. Mclntyre, 
quite a noted surgeon, of Palmyra, N.Y., was 
called to see a young lady of seventeen, with all 
the symptoms of pregnancy; she had the appear- 
ance of being seven months along. He ques- 
tioned her closely, and ascertained she had been 
chaste, and also that she had never had any ex- 
ternal show. Every month, since fifteen years 
of age, she had experienced those nervous sensa- 
tions peculiar to normal menstruation, still at the 
same time there was no external show manifested. 
He told her that an examination would have to 
take place. 

On making an examination he found the ex- 
ternal organs and the lower third of the vagina 
perfectly developed, but the upper two-thirds 



SEXUAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 39 

were imperforate ; it was a solid cartilaginous 
band. The doctor, after making a thorough ex- 
amination, formed the following diagnosis : The 
appearance resembling pregnancy was produced 
by the accumulated menstrual fluid. That it 
had been accumulating for the past two years, 
ever since she entered the stage of puberty. 

He told her it was a case of life and death ; 
that she would die if he did not operate, and the 
probability was death would be the result if he 
did. An operation was assented to. Commenc- 
ing at the upper part of the vagina, so far as 
it was an open tube, he cut an artificial canal 
between the bladder and the rectum, being care- 
ful not to injure either one of the last two or- 
gans. Arriving at the mouth of the womb he 
made an incision, and over a quart of menstrual 
fluid escaped at once. An oiled septum was in- 
serted into the artificial canal for a time, so that 
the canal would not reclose. The case termi- 
nated successfully ; at last accounts this lady was 
alive and the mother of three children. This 
case shows how closely the surgeon can imitate 
the Creator. 

THE UTERUS. 

We have now traveled the whole extent of 
the vagina, and at its internal extremity, we 
come to the most important organ in the sexual 
system, — the womb. No organ in the female 



4-0 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

economy has a higher office to perform ; no 
organ is more sympathetically related to the 
general system ; no organ has been subjected 
to more abuse ; no organ is subject to a 
greater complication of disease and displace- 
ment. Hence, we should be careful to under- 
stand its structure, position, relation and func- 
tion. 

The uterus rests on the top of the vagina ; 
the vaginal tube is its main support. The part 
of the womb that rests on the vagina is smaller 
than the tube itself, therefore, a portion of the 
womb extends into the tube, and there is a cul 
de sac existing around the lower extremity. 

The womb in the virgin weighs from two to 
three ounces, and is situated between the blad- 
der and the rectum ; it is conical in shape, re- 
sembling a flattened pear; it is, in the virgin 
state, some three inches in length, two in width 
and one inch thick. At least two-thirds of its 
upper portion is covered with a serous mem- 
brane, viz., the peritoneum. Removing the ex- 
ternal membrane we arrive at the proper struc- 
ture of the womb, and we find it, in the virgin 
state, to be more of a fibro-cartilaginous nature 
than muscular. It is only in the impregnated 
uterus that the true muscular fiber is seen, and 
then it is of the involuntary order. The will 
at no time can control the womb, or excite it 



SEXUAL AN ATOM T AND PHTSIOLOG7'. 4 1 

to action, any more than will can influence the 
heart or stomach. The upper and broadest 
part of the womb is termed the fundus, and, 
as you pass toward the lower extremity, it 
becomes gradually smaller. The smaller con- 
stricted portion is termed the neck ; the very 
lowest portion is called the os uteri, composed 
of anterior and posterior projections called the 
lips. 

If we cut the womb open we find it to be a 
hollow organ. The external orifice is quite 
large, and in the healthy unimpregnated state 
is always open. Passing into the viscus from 
the external opening, we enter a narrower con- 
stricted canal termed the cervix uteri ; passing 
along this expands into a triangular cavity ; 
at the two upper angles of this cavity exist 
apertures, by which we can enter the fallopian 
tubes, which we shall soon explain. 

The cavity of the womb is lined with a 
mucous membrane, which is really a continua- 
tion of the membrane that lined the vagina. 
This membrane contains numerous follicles 
which secrete mucus. There are several liga- 
ments that connect the womb with adjacent 
parts. Those running from the womb to the 
bladder keep it from tilting backward, those run- 
ning from the womb to the rectum keep it from 
tiltinor forward, the broad ligament running each 



4 2 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

side prevents any lateral displacement. It was 
formerly taught that these ligaments are the 
main supports of the womb, but the modern 
physiologist tells us that the vagina is the main 
support, and that the ligaments act as so many 
guy ropes. 

FALLOPIAN TUBES. 

Passing out of the uterine cavity, at the aper- 
tures to which we have before referred, we enter 
the fallopian tubes. These tubes are two in 
number. They are about four inches in 'length, 
and are traversed by a canal so small that you 
can pass with great difficulty the finest bristle. 
One end of each tube is attached to the womb ; 
the other is free, and terminates in a fimbriated 
extremity. These tubes are lined with a mucous 
membrane, which is a continuation of the same 
that lined the womb. The fallopian tubes corre- 
spond to the oviducts in the bird. The tulip- 
like extremity of the tube is free ; but there is a 
slender ligament running from one of the fim- 
brise or finger-like processes to the next organ 
which we shall consider, viz., the ovary. Hence 
the free extremity can never get any farther 
from the ovary than the length of the connect- 
ing Horament. 

During ovulation the free extremity closely 
embraces the ovary, to receive the Qgg as it 
escapes from its parent bed. 



SEXUAL ANATOMT AND PHYSIOLOGY. 43 
THE OVARY. 

The ovaries, next to the uterus, in function 
and in many respects, are superior. They are 
two in number, the right and the left. They are 
about the size of a pigeon's egg, and have the 
shape of an oblate spheroid, viz., almond shaped. 
The ovary on each side is attached to the uterus 
by a ligament termed the utero-ovarian. It is 
enveloped in the folds of the broad ligament 
which we have before described. 

The ovary, when laid open with a bistoury, 
and its minute structure examined with a micro- 
scope, is found to be strictly glandular in its 
nature. As the liver secretes bile, so we might 
say the ovary secretes eggs. The ovary is com- 
posed of a fibro-spongy tissue termed stroma, 
and throughout this stroma or matrix are found 
from fifteen to twenty ovisacs in every stage of 
development. In the center of the ovary they 
are quite small, but as they become developed 
they advance pari -passu to the surface, and every 
month one or more of them becomes mature, 
and finally ruptures the external coat of the 
ovary. The ovisac contains a liquid peculiar to 
it, and in which floats the ovum. 

STRUCTURE OF THE OVUM. 

The old Latin maxim, Omne vivum exovo, is 
thoroughly confirmed by the science of to-day. 



44 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

All animals are developed from eggs, viviparous 
as well as oviparous. Man is no exception. 
You take the hen's egg as an illustration. The 
yolk and the vitelline membrane that covers it 
is the egg proper ; the white and the shell are 
secondary attachments. 

The human egg, when examined with the 
microscope, is organized the same as the egg in 
the lower animals. When it escapes, it is only 
about one two-hundredth of an inch in diameter. 
We find in the yolk the germinal vesicle, and in 
the germinal vesicle is the germinal dot. 

The escape of the egg is termed ovulation. 
The nervous disturbance produced during its 
escape produces an effect on the womb that 
results in menstruation. At the point where the 
egg escapes from the ovary there is an extrava- 
sation of blood, in which various metamorphoses 
transpire, which soon becomes of a yellowish 
hue, and finally disappears. These marks, or 
scars, produced in the ovary, are termed copora 
lutea — yellow bodies. 

CORPORA LUTEA. 

There are two kinds of these corpora lutea, 
the true and the false. The true are those in 
which the escaping egg becomes impregnated. 
They attain a large size, and do not entirely dis- 
appear until after the termination of gestation. 



SEXUAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 45 

The false corpora lutea completely disappear in 
a month or so after the escape of the ovum. The 
false corpora lutea are those in which the escap- 
ing egg does not become impregnated. 

THE EGG'S JOURNEY. 

When the egg escapes from the ruptured ovi- 
sac, at the time of ovulation, if there was nothing 
there to receive it, turned out of home as it is, it 
would drop into the peritoneal sac. But such is 
rarely the condition of things. Always, during 
the escape, the ovary is tightly grasped by the 
fimbriated extremity of the oviduct, viz., the fal- 
lopian tube. The right hand of fellowship is 
given the ovum, and at once it sets out on its 
pilgrimage to the external world. 

As the egg is paddled along the tube by the 
countless ciliae which are attached to its lining 
membrane, it becomes coated on the outside with 
an albuminous substance, closely resembling the 
white of the egg in the bird ; it finally escapes 
into the uterine cavity, and if it is not impreg- 
nated, it soon escapes through the os uteri. 

This same trip is taken each month by the dif- 
ferent eggs, as they are successively extruded 
from the ovary. 

The time occupied in performing its monthly 
tour varies in different ladies, and ofttimes in the 
same lady. As a general rule, it takes from 



4° PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

twelve to fourteen days. It is a fallacy to teach 
that the trip is always performed in the same 
time. The egg manifests, in the same lady, un- 
explainable freaks in its rapidity of travel. If 
there is perfect general and sexual health, it may 
perform the trip in three days ; but if there is 
uterine disease, it may occupy the whole interval 
between the menses before it makes its final 
escape. Many ladies claim they can tell the 
exact moment the ovum escapes the os uteri ; 
they say they experience bearing down sensa- 
tions, similar in nature, differing only in inten- 
sity, from those in the second stage of labor. 

It is only about seven inches from the ovary 
to the mouth of the womb ; hence, when the egg 
is fourteen days performing its journey, it only 
travels at the rate of one half inch per day. 

We have now seen, in part, the office the 
female has to perform, viz., to produce the ovum 
or germ which, exposed to certain vital influ- 
ences, will produce a future human being. Men- 
struation, and its facts and freaks, will be reserved 
for a future chapter. 




CHAPTER III. 



GENERATIVE ORGANS OF THE MALE * 

THE testicles in the male are the analogues 
of the ovaries in the female. They are 
strictly glandular in their structure. Previous 
to the eighth month of fcetal life the testicles are 
in the abdominal cavity in contact with the 
kidney. Before the term of gestation ends 
they have started and completed the downward 
journey to the scrotum or sac in which they 
are generally found. Carpenter says " the testes 
begin to descend about the middle of preg- 
nancy ; at the seventh month they reach the 
inner ring or opening in the abdominal walls ; 
during the eighth month they enter the ingui- 
nal canal, and by the ninth month arrive in 
the scrotum." 

The ovary in the female and the testicle in 
the male, are first developed in close proximity 
to the kidney. Freaks in the descent of the 
testicles are quite common; sometimes one of 
them remains through life in its original posi- 
tion, while the other makes its usual descent. 

* For illustration see appendix. 



48 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

Sometimes both testicles are retained through 
life in the abdominal cavity. There are cases 
where both have been retained until the tenth 
year, and the descent then taken place. Whether 
in the abdominal cavity, or in the scrotum, they 
have the same office and power. 

THE STRUCTURE OF THE TESTICLES. 

The testicle has an external tunic peculiar 
to itself, termed the tunica albuginea. This 
coating not only envelops it but likewise dips 
down and divides it into several lobes. Each 
lobe is composed of a mass of convoluted tubes, 
termed the tubuli seminiferi. There are about 
four hundred and fifty lobes, each of which is 
traversed by one or more of the tubuli. Each 
lobe is conical in form, the base toward the 
surface and the apex pointing inward. The 
whole number of the tubes are about eight 
hundred, and the diameter of each about one- 
hundred and fiftieth of an inch. The tubuli, 
after various combinations and divisions, empty 
into the vas deferans, the true excretory duct of 
the testicle. 

OFFICE OF THE TESTICLE. 

The main office of the testicle is to secrete 
semen ; this function of secretion is mostly per- 
formed by the loops or caecal endings of the 



GENERATIVE ORGANS OF THE MALE. 49 

tubuli seminiferi. Some claim that the vesicular 
substance, which enters into the structure of 
the outer portion of the testis, performs the 
whole function of secreting the semen. 

SEMEN. 

The semen emitted at the time of sexual in- 
tercourse is not the pure semen secreted by the 
testes. Carpenter says no accurate analysis of 
pure semen from the human subject has yet 
been made. Frerichs has analyzed semen taken 
direct from the testes of the rabbit. He says : 
" Pure semen is a milky fluid of a mucous con- 
sistence, and neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. 
It contains a large number of minute bodies, 
termed spermatozoa. These minute bodies are in 
constant motion, and are considered by some 
as animalculse. They are infinitesimally small. 
They have an oval, flattened body, about one 
six-hundredth of a line in length, and projecting 
from the body is a filiform tail, one-fortieth of a 
line in length. These spermatozoa retain their 
power of motion for several days after emission. 

The sperm is the essential fertilizing ele- 
ment in the semen. Filter the semen, so that 
the sperms are removed, and it has lost its im- 
pregnating power. The reason that hybrids 
cannot, as a rule, propagate, is because their 
semen is devoid of the sperms. The chemist 



50 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

tells us the sperms contain a large amount of 
phosphorus, existing either in a free state or in 
the form of phosphorized fats and phosphate of 
lime. 

SEMINAL FALLACIES. 

The ancients had some curious ideas in regard 
to the source and office of the semen. They 
believed the emission was the actual passage of 
the brain down the spinal cord. Tabes dorsalis 
(the ancient name for what we term spermator- 
rhoea) is described by the old writers as a wast- 
ing of the spinal cord. 

Acton says : " Nothing costs the economy so 
much as the production of semen and its ejacu- 
lation." 

JOURNEY OF THE SPERM. 

After the sperm is poured into the vas defer- 
ans (the excretory duct of the testicle), it is 
conveyed by this same duct out of the scrotum ; 
thence it passes through the inguinal canal to 
the base of the bladder. At the base are situ- 
ated two glandular bodies, termed the vesiculse 
seminales* They have a secretion of their own 
of a mucous nature. The outlets to the vesiculse 
seminales and the vasa deferentia form junctures, 
termed the ejaculatory ducts. So at the point 
where the two ducts coalesce, the two secretions 

* For illustration see appendix. 



GENERATIVE ORGANS OF THE MALE. 5 I 

commingle. The secretion from the vesiculae 
liquifies the semen, and gives it the peculiar odor. 

As there are two vesiculse, the right and the 
left, and as there are two vasa deferentia, of 
course there will be two ejaculatory ducts, and 
they both empty into the urethra, or canal trav- 
ersing the penis. 

As the semen passes along on its outward 
journey, it receives additional secretions from 
the prostate gland and Cowper's glands, which 
are small glands situated at the commencement 
of the urethra. 

The true office of the various secretions the 
semen has received at the different points is not 
well understood. It is supposed by some that 
the semen is not thoroughly elaborated, and that 
the sperms are not completely evolved, until the 
different secretions we have spoken of are inti- 
mately commingled. 

There are two theories extant in regard to 
the time that the semen is secreted. The one 
that is generally indorsed is that the testes are 
constantly secreting semen. In men who have 
been continent less semen is secreted than in 
those that are married. The condition of the 
mind and the surroundings greatly influence the 
amount. 

The vesiculse seminales are not only secretory 
in their nature, but, it is claimed, they act as so 



52 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



many reservoirs for the semen that does not 
pass off by seminal emissions. 

Without dwelling any longer at present on 
the crenerative organs and their functions, we 
will in the next chapter consider the process of 
impregnation. Many interesting facts pertain- 
ing to generation will be presented when we 
consider the diseases of these organs. 




I 



CHAPTER IV 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 

T is admitted by all physiologists that con- 
ception is the result of contact of the sperm 
of the male and the germ or ovum of the female. 
In sexual intercourse the semen is brought in 
direct contact with the mouth of the womb. The 
spermatozoon enters the uterine canal, and wher- 
ever it meets the egg that is trying to escape 
into the external world, there impregnation takes 
place. 

EXPLODED THEORIES. 

The old doctrine was, that there is a seminal 
aura, or atmosphere, that passes to the ovary, 
and that the egg is always fertilized before it 
leaves its parent bed. There have been various 
theories advanced in regard to who is entitled to 
the most credit in producing the new being, the 
father or the mother. Pythagoras and Aristotle 
taught that the female parent furnishes the mate- 
rial for the formation of the offspring, and that 
the male qtcickens it to life. Galen, on the other 
hand, taught that the male semen alone furnishes 
the vital material for the new being, and that the 



54 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

female furnishes a lodging place, and suitable 
pabulum for its development. 

THEORY OF TO-DAY. 

The theory of to-day is about the same as that 
advocated by Aristotle. After the sperm meets 
the ovum, all locomotion in the egg stops, and it 
becomes, in a short time, attached to the inner 
membrane of the womb. Life is now kindled, 
and, of course, nourishment is demanded. The 
albuminous coating of the ovum nourishes the 
being at first. In a short time little villi spring 
from every part of the egg, apparently to seek 
food for the embryo. As the little rootlets of 
the plant burrow down into the earth to obtain 
food from the soil, so these thread-like villi of 
the egg dip down into the secretion that is 
effused from the lining of the womb. The race 
for life has begun. There is but little nourish- 
ment ready for use ; the larder is small ; these 
little villi are so many little foragers for the little 
being. In a short time the villi disappear from 
the ovum, except at that point where it is in con- 
tact with the womb, and at that point they are 
increased in number and size, and finally they 
are sufficiently developed to form the placenta, or 
afterbirth. 

Without dwelling on the minute anatomical 
changes that transpire in the womb, the foetus, 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES 55 

and its appendages, we will speak of certain gen- 
eral facts and physical peculiarities. 

CHANGES IN THE WOMB DURING GESTATION, 

From the first there is a gradual growth. It 
becomes each month, from conception until 
childbirth, larger, heavier. In the virmn it is 
only a few ounces in weight, at parturition as 
many pounds. 

FCETAL DEVELOPMENT. 

At first it is a minute Qgg ; but at the third 
week of gestation it is one-half inch in length, 
and expanded at one extremity. The cleft for 
the mouth, and two black spots for the eyes, can 
be seen at this early stage. As the acorn, with 
proper surroundings, will produce the majestic 
oak, so this apparently homogeneous mass of 
vitality will produce the highest organized be- 
ing — MAN. 

Man is a microcosm — a world within him- 
self — he is really an epitome of creation. 
There is not a law in the universe that is not 
duplicated in man's organism ; hence the impor- 
tance of thoroughly tracing the metamorphoses 
through which he has passed from impregnation 
until birth. 

Each successive month of its intra-uterine 
existence the fcetus becomes larger, heavier, more 
human. The nine months' career is soon passed. 



56 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

The cocoon is severed, and at birth it becomes 
an independent being. Heretofore the mother 
has purified its blood, has done its breathing. 
Now it breathes for itself. It now seeks its 
nourishment in a different way, and maintains 
its own animal heat. Heretofore, every thought, 
emotion and passion of the mother has stamped 
peculiar qualities, both mental and physical, on 
the little being. 

Organs that were active during fcetal life, 
after the birth of the child become atrophied, 
and remain, like many nondescript fossils in the 
rocks, so many vestiges of the past. 

The umbilicus, thyroid gland and urachus are 
so many fcetal landmarks. 

The lungs, that through fcetal life were imper- 
vious, more like a liver than anything else, at 
birth are aroused from their lethargy to contend 
with the new surroundings. 

QUICKENING OF THE CHILD. 

Many ladies, at about the fourth month of 
pregnancy experience for the first time the 
movement of the fcetus. This sensation is sup- 
posed to be produced by the fcetus being quick- 
ened into life ; and in some countries, at the 
present time, if abortion is produced before this 
period of quickening, the penalty is not so 
severe as if produced later. 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 57 

A false physiology has placed on the statute 
book an unjust law. 

Science to-day says, there is life from the 
time of impregnation, and in the eyes of the 
law, and in the eyes of God, it is just as criminal 
to destroy the foetus one day after impregnation 
as one year. How many ladies in the land are 
really guilty of foeticide, and yet they supposed 
it all right to destroy it before the fourth month. 

Mrs. Duffey, in her ''Relation of the Sexes," 
says : " I have even heard a woman, who ac- 
knowledged to several successive abortions, ac- 
complished by her own hands upon herself, say, 
'Why, there is no harm in it, any more than in 
drowning a blind kitten ; it is nothing better 
than a kitten before it is born.' " 

OPINION OF THE ANCIENTS. 

Philosophers in all ages have differed in re- 
gard to the time the fcetus manifests a soul. 
Roman lawyers looked on the fcetus as a part 
of the mother, hence the Roman mothers de- 
stroyed it any time. The Stoics believed the 
soul entered the body at the first respiration ; 
the Justinian code fixed it at forty days after 
conception. The reason the mother first feels 
the motion of the child at the fourth month is 
this : previous to that time the womb is low 
down in the pelvis, and the movements of the 



5 8 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

foetus cannot produce sensation on the womb 
and adjacent parts, because they are destitute 
of sensitive nerves. 

At the fourth month the womb is so large 
it cannot remain longer in the pelvis, and it 
rises up into the abdominal cavity, and some 
writers claim this uprising of the womb pro- 
duces the sensations of quickening. Carpenter 
says : " When it emerges from the pelvis it 
comes in contact, anteriorly, with the abdominal 
parietes, which are liberally supplied with sensi- 
tive nerves, and which, by contiguity of sub- 
stance, feel the movements and thus the woman 
becomes conscious of them." 

PLACENTA. 

At the end of gestation this organ is about 
six to eight inches in diameter, and weighs 
about a pound. In the center it is over an inch 
in thickness, growing thinner toward the circum- 
ference. Its outer surface is a little uneven, and 
when insitu is closely attached to the inner sur- 
face of the womb. Its inner surface is smooth 
and is covered with the two membranes that 
constitute the bag of waters. The villi, which 
we have before said connect the ovum to the 
inner membrane of the womb, in a short time 
are increased in number and size, and by the 
development of new cellular tissue they are 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 59 

soon matted into one compact mass. It is 
not placental in form until about the second 
month, and if it is then examined it will be 
found traversed with a complex system of blood- 
vessels, arteries, veins and capillaries. These 
blood-vessels do not have a direct communica- 
tion with those that traverse the uterus, yet the 
relation is so intimate that all the physiological 
changes can be produced just as well as if there 
were a direct passage. All that separates the 
placental and maternal current is a thin atten- 
uated membrane. 

HOW IS THE BLOOD PURIFIED.* 

In adult respiration the air does not come in 
direct contact with the impure blood, a thin 
membrane separates them, yet all the effects of 
purification transpire. The inspired air imparts 
oxygen through the membrane, and receives 
carbonic acid in return. The blood when sent 
to the lungs is nearly black, loaded with carbon, 
but the oxygen it has received frees it of its 
impurities, — changes its color to a bright scarlet 
tint. When the blood leaves the lung it is ap- 
parently a new fluid, well fitted to start again 
on its missionary tour of nutrition. The placenta 
is, pro tempore, the lung's stomach, liver and 
alimentary canal of the foetus. The placental 

* For illustration fee appendix. 



6o 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



villi, or tufts floating as they really do in the 
maternal blood, impart to it carbonic acid and 
receive in return oxygen ; so far it is the lung 
of the fcetus. The same tufts at the same time 
absorb nourishment from the mother's blood, 
and so transform it that it will nourish the 
foetus ; so far it performs the office of stomach. 
That the placenta also is an organ of secretion 
and excretion is admitted by the best scientists 
of the day. Those little villi, so simple in struc- 
ture and function at first, have, as we can plainly 
see, been transformed into the most important 
organ of fcetal existence. 

POSITION OF AFTERBIRTH. 

The position of the afterbirth in the womb 
can, many times, be ascertained by using the 
stethoscope over the uterus, and listening to the 
placental b?'uit, or murmur. 

The afterbirth may be attached to any part 
of the uterine cavity. If the sperm does not 
meet the egg until it arrives at the fundus, then 
the afterbirth will be formed there. 

Sometimes the sperm impregnates the egg 
just as it is ready to escape from the uterus, 
then the afterbirth will be formed over the 
os uteri ; and when such is the case, and parturi- 
tion takes place, there will be a dangerous com- 
plication, viz., placenta prcevia. 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 6 1 
UMBILICAL CORD. 

This is the only connecting link between the 
mother and foetus. It starts from the center of 
the placenta, to which it is attached, and termi- 
nates at the umbilicus, or navel, of the child. It 
is generally about twenty inches in length, al- 
though some authors claim they have seen cases 
where it was five feet long. It is composed of 
two arteries and one vein, with a small amount 
of gelatinous matter, gluing them together. It 
is covered on the outside with prolongations of 
the membranes, that compose the bag of waters. 
The cord manifests these peculiar freaks at 
times, viz., of being tied into several knots, and, 
also, at times of being coiled several times 
around the neck of the foetus. 

FCETAL CIRCULATION. 

As this volume is intended for popular read- 
ing, we shall leave out the minutiae of this very 
complex circulation, and merely give a general 
idea. 

The umbilical vein conveys the pure blood 
from the afterbirth to the navel of the child. 
Thence the blood passes to the fcetal heart, 
which pumps it to every part of the body of the 
foetus. The blood, as it circulates, in time be- 
comes impure ; now, where shall it be freed from 
its impurities ? Says one, " Why can it not be 



62 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

purified in the lungs of the foetus?" My answer 
is, the lungs of the foetus are more like a liver 
than anything else. The only way that it can 
be purified is for it to be sent back to the pla- 
centa, through the umbilical arteries. 

The umbilical cord, therefore, has two currents 
of blood flowing through it, one pure the other 
impure, and flowing in different directions. Here 
is another physiological ■ exception, where the 
artery conveys impure and the vein pure blood. 

BAG OF WATERS. 

How Formed; Its Contents; Its Office. 

The foetus, all through gestation, is suspended 
in the amniotic liquid, which is inclosed in the 
two membranes, termed the amnion and the 
chorion. This sac, with its contents, is, in popu- 
lar language, called the bag of waters. 

The outer membrane of the sac is the chorion; 
the inner, the amnion. We will now trace the 
formation of this sac through its various changes. 
The ovum, if examined microscopically, has two 
membranes that envelop it. The yolk, which 
constitutes the majority of the egg, is inclosed 
by these two membranes, and, as I have before 
stated, as soon as life is kindled it nourishes the 
germ. The yolk in the beginning nourishes the 
germ in the same way that the major part of a 
kernel of wheat nourishes the germ when quick- 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 63 

ened by the stimulating influences of light, 
warmth and moisture. The yolk is soon ex- 
hausted by the hungry germ, and its place is 
supplanted by an aqueous liquid, and in this liquid 
the foetus floats. As the foetus becomes more 
and more developed, as a matter of course the 
sac will become more distended, and the liquid 
increased in quantity. The origin of this amni- 
otic liquid is a matter of dispute. 

The quantity of the liquid, at the end of 
gestation, varies from a few gills to as many 
pints, and when the membranes are ruptured 
during parturition, and a very little liquid escapes, 
it is termed a dry birth. It is claimed by some, 
that the liquid nourishes the foetus, on the prin- 
ciple of absorption, and all admit that it is a 
reservoir for the excretions of the foetus. The 
meconium and urine have been detected in it 
by several reliable observers. 

OFFICE OF AMNIOTIC LIQUID. 

The foetus, as it floats in the liquid, is, so to 
speak, surrounded by a liquid cushion, and 
should the mother, during pregnancy, receive 
any external injury, such as might be produced 
by a fall, a misstep or a blow, the foetus would 
escape unharmed. Were the foetus not thus 
shielded, the pregnant state would be one of 
great solicitude on the part of the mother, and 



64 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

there would be ten cases of abortion to where 
there is one now. 

At the same time the liquid protects the foetus 
it also protects the mother. After the period of 
quickening, the foetus manifests more or less 
muscular activity, and were it in direct contact 
with the uterus, the effects produced would be 
unbearable on the part of the mother. Perhaps 
the most important office of the bag of waters 
is that which it fulfills in furnishing an easy exit 
for the foetus through the os uteri. The manner 
in which it performs this office we have explained 
in the essay on parturition. 

RELATION OF SAC TO PLACENTA. 

The bag of waters in the last stage of gesta- 
tion fills, as a rule, the whole cavity of the 
womb, and the membranes of the sac are in 
direct contact with the hypertrophied lining 
membrane (mcmbrana decidtid), except that por- 
tion occupied by the placenta. The foetal 
portion of the placenta is covered with the 
membranes. Perhaps a clearer idea can be 
obtained by the following comparison : We 
might compare the bag of waters to the dis- 
tended gas bag of a balloon ; the membrana 
decidua we might compare to the net-work 
inclosing ; the placenta would represent the car. 
The. only point where the comparison is not 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 65 

perfect, is that in the balloon there is quite a 
space intervening between the balloon proper 
and the attached car, whereas the bag of waters 
is in direct contact with the placenta. 

MYSTERY OF TWINS. 

Twin conception is produced in the same way 
as single, with this exception, that two ova are 
fecundated instead of one. In ovulation, more 
than one egg may escape, and in sexual coition, 
more than one sperm may enter the mouth of 
the womb, hence there is no mystery in regard 
to twin production, and if there is any mystery, 
it is in the fact that there are so few cases of 
twin births. Triplets and quadruplets are ac- 
counted for on the same principle that twins 
are produced, viz., there must be as many eggs 
fecundated as there are foetuses. Churchill says : 
" A woman may conceive two, three, four or 
Jive children, but I am not aware of more than 
four children having been born alive at one 
birth." 

Statistics show that among British practition- 
ers there are sixty-nine single births to one of 
twins. Four thousand' four hundred and seven- 
ty-three single births to one of triplets. Among 
the French practitioners the percentage of twins 
and triplets is some less. 

hi plural births there will be as many pla- 
5 



66 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

centas as foetuses, and each foetus has its own 
umbilical cord attached to its own placenta. 

NUMBER OF AFTERBIRTHS. 

You often hear it remarked that in a case of 
twin births there was but one after-birth ex- 
pelled. To the careless or ignorant observer 
such was the case, but a close observation would 
show that there were two coalescing, in such a 
manner as to deceive a superficial examination. 

SIAMESE TWINS. 

This noted freak of twin birth can be ac- 
counted for as follows : two ova were fertilized 
as in ordinary twin conception, but the ova at 
the time of conception were in juxtaposition, 
and it is easy to understand how the cartilagi- 
nous band that joined them could be formed. 

SUPERFCETATION. 

Whether a woman several months advanced 
in pregnancy can conceive again if sexual 
coition takes place, is admitted and denied by 
good authorities. In ordinary twin births sev- 
eral days may intervene between the birth of 
the two foetuses, and yet both ova from which 
the foetuses were evolved may have been im- 
pregnated either at the same intercourse or at 
two successive coitions, with only a little time 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 6 J 

intervening between them. Dr. Mosely gives 
the following case : "A negro woman brought 
forth two children at a birth, both of a size, one 
of which was a negro the other a mulatto. The 
mother confessed to having intercourse with 
her husband and a white man, with only a short 
time intervening." 

The following cases are more mysterious : 
" Mrs. T., an Italian lady, but married to an 
Englishman, was delivered of a male child at 
Palermo, November 12, 1807. On the 2d of 
February, 1808, not quite three calendar months 
after the preceding accouchement, she was de- 
livered of a second male infant." 

Dr. Bedford gives the following case : "A 
woman, aged thirty-seven years, brought forth 
a mature and healthy child on the 30th of 
April; on the 17th of September following 
(about one hundred and forty days after the 
previous birth) she was again delivered of a 
fully developed infant." 

In the last two cases do we have examples 
of twin conception, or are they better accounted 
for on the principle of superfcetation ? If it is 
twin conception, we must admit that from some 
cause, one foetus was more tardily developed 
than the other, and that it was retained in the 
uterus until it was fully evolved. Churchill says : 
" This explanation requires previous proof, that 



68 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



a slow growth of the foetus involves a protracted 
gestation." Bedford says : "The best way to ac- 
count 'for these peculiar freaks, where so long 
a time intervenes between the births, is on the 
principle of a second fecundation." 

In the case of a double uterus, the explanation 
is quite easy to illustrate. One coition may 
fecundate an ovum in one of the cornua, and 
a subsequent coition may fecundate an ovum 
in the other cornua. Ramsbotham objects to 
a second fecundation, for the reason that the 
os uteri is closed with a tenacious mucous plug- 
as soon as pregnancy is effected. Bedford, on 
the other hand, says that there is no essential 
difference between the mucus existing in the 
cervical canal' in the pregnant woman, and that 
generally present in the same canal in an unim- 
pregnated female. 

It was formerly supposed that shortly after 
conception the uterus is lined with a deciduous 
membrane, — a shut sac — and that a second 
fecundation could not take place for this obvious 
reason, the sac would so close up the orifices of 
the fallopian tubes and the os uteri, that it 
would be impossible for ova, if they are ex- 
tended from the ovary, to gain access to the 
uterine cavity ; and this same sac would be 
another obstacle to the entrance of spermatozoa. 

Modern physiologists, however, claim the 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 69 

decidua is nothing but a hypertrophied con- 
dition of the membrane lining the womb, and 
that during the earlier stages of gestation the 
orifices of the fallopian tubes are open as much 
as in unimpregnated wombs. There is much 
obscurity still prevailing in regard to these so 
called cases of superfcetation. Who shall de- 
cide when doctors disagree ? 

ABNORNAL PREGNANCY. 

The fecundated egg, 999 times in 1,000, will 
become attached to the membrane lining the 
womb. God intended the womb to be the home 
of the foetus, but there is occasionally an excep- 
tion ; sometimes the impregnated egg becomes 
attached to the membrane lining the fallopian 
tube, and it remains in the tube during its de- 
velopment ; this is a case of extra-uterine fceta- 
tion, termed tubal pregnancy. Sometimes the 
egg is impregnated the moment it escapes from 
its parent bed, viz., the ovary, and it remains in 
contact with the ovary during its development ; 
this is a case of ovarian pregnancy . Again, the 
egg, after being impregnated at the ovary, may 
drop into the peritoneal sac, producing a case of 
abdominal pregnancy. The theory we have ad- 
vanced in regard to conception, easily explains 
how these abnormal forms of pregnancy can be 
produced. The sperm may travel the whole ex- 



/O PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

tent of the uterus before the ovum arrives there. 
The sperm still continues its journey and meets the 
tardy egg in the tube ; or it may travel the whole 
length of the tube, and embrace the egg the mo- 
ment it bursts through the walls of the ovisac. 
It is sometimes quite difficult to decide, especial- 
ly before the period of quickening, whether it is 
pregnancy or not, as it may be confounded with 
ovarian tumor. 

The general symptoms of extra-uterine preg- 
nancy are closely allied to those of ordinary preg- 
nancy, with these exceptions : the menses, as a 
rule, continue unabated, and the increase of the 
abdomen generally differs from that in ordinary 
pregnancy by being more to one side, and the 
pain limited to the spot where the tumor is felt. 
The foetus ordinarily does not undergo its full 
development, and in its earlier stages it becomes 
encased in a cyst. 

The great danger to be apprehended is hem- 
orrhage and peritoneal inflammation, in case the 
cyst is ruptured. The foetus, of course, in tubal and 
ovarian pregnancies, cannot be born in the usual 
way, but in some cases an abscess is formed by 
the death and decomposition of the foetus, and 
then the surgeon would be warranted in making 
an incision of the abdominal walls and remov- 
ing it. Some recommend the incision to be 
made as soon as the fact of extra-uterine preg- 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 7 1 

nancy is established, especially if the health of 
the mother is declining. 

REMARKABLE CASES. 

I will give two cases to illustrate : Dr. Pope, 
of the St. Louis Medical College, was called to 
see a case of left tubal pregnancy ; the full pe- 
riod of gestation was completed, and in the left 
ovarian region were all the symptoms of an ab- 
scess forming. He incised the abdominal walls 
over the tumor and removed a foetus some four 
months developed. The mother lived, and has 
given birth to three fully developed foetuses since. 

The Sedalia (Mo.) special gives the following 
case : " One of the rarest and most difficult sur- 
gical cases, and probably the first of the kind in 
this state, was successfully performed in Otter- 
ville, Cooper county, about twenty miles south- 
east of this city, last Tuesday. It was the re- 
moval of the foetus from the person of a lady 
two years after its conception. In medical par- 
lance the case is termed extra-uterine foetation. 

A history of the case is briefly this : A little 
over two years ago Mr. Rhea died, and Mrs. 
Rhea was expected to be confined three months 
later, or two years ago this month. The event 
did not take place. The foetus perished, and 
all signs of life in it ceased. She was taken 
ill, and her life despaired of. She, however, re- 



J2 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

gained her health to a moderate degree, and for 
the past year has been able to attend to house- 
hold duties. But the burden that she carried — 
the dead linked to the living — grew irksome, and 
after consulting with her physician and others 
in regard to an operation, she was determined 
to take the chances, and undergo it at all haz- 
ards. Accordingly, she went to work to put her 
house in order. She settled up all the affairs of 
the estate, made her will, and provision for her 
only child, a boy six or seven years old. She 
even prepared her funeral garments, in case the 
operation should prove fatal. Last Tuesday she 
announced she was ready, when her family phy- 
sician, assisted by several doctors from Sedalia, 
prepared to perform the operation. Although 
again warned of the probable fatal results, she 
jokingly laughed at the physicians, assuring them 
she would come out all right. The abdomen 
was opened, the foetus detached and successfully 
removed. It was in a perfect state of preserva- 
tion, and was that of a nearly fully developed 
child, though somewhat shrunken. Nature, ever 
wise and provident, envelops the foetus in a thin 
membrane or sac, thus rendering the dead foetus 
innocuous to the body, and this was so envel- 
oped. Mrs. Rhea was then put to bed, and made 
comfortable. This morning word was received 
that she was as well as could be expected, and 



CONCEPTION AND ITS PECULIARITIES. 7$ 

the indications were highly favorable for recov- 
ery." 

Extra-uterine pregnancy is clouded still, to a 
certain degree, in mystery, and whichever theory 
of impregnation we may indorse, the great won- 
der is the small percentage of the abnormal 
pregnancies. 

DURATION OF PREGNANCY. 

Forty weeks — 280 days — is the ordinary 
time, although sometimes there are wide depart- 
ures. The code, Napoleon, of Paris, fixes ex- 
tremes at 300 and 180 days. If a child is born 
300 days after marriage, or as early as 180, it is 
pronounced legitimate. In Scotland a child is 
not declared a bastard unless born after the 
tenth month from the death or departure of the 
husband. 

WHEN WILL LABOR BEGIN? 

Bedford o-ives the following rule : " Imagine, 
for example, the termination of the last men- 
strual period to be on the 10th of January; then 
count back three months, which will correspond 
with the 10th of October; now from the 10th of 
October add seven days, this will bring you to 
the 1 7th of October, the day on which labor will 
commence." 



CHAPTER V. 



PUBERTY AND ITS PHENOMENA. 

FROM the first kindling of life in the ovum 
until death, the human being is undergoing 
wonderful evolutions. Life is one grand series 
of metamorphoses. Perhaps the most interest- 
ing transformation in many respects, and the 
one to which I now invite your attention, is 
that of Puberty. 

In this latitude it occurs about the fifteenth 
year. It is claimed that climate influences 
greatly the time. 

In tropical climes it occurs often at eight 
years, whereas in the colder regions it may be 
delayed until twenty. The surroundings of 
childhood influence its arrival greatly. City 
life and its customs hastens it ; country life 
retards. 

Previous to the arrival of puberty, the little 
boy and girl act very much alike, but when it 
arrives, a wide divergence takes place ; he blos- 
soms into manhood, she into womanhood. Her 
girlish plays are laid aside ; she has hid the doll 
she long has fondled ; she is more shy, modest 



PUBERTY AND ITS PHENOMENA. 



75 



and refined in the presence of the gentlemen. 
The light-hearted, playful girl is now a lady, so 
made by Nature. What a wonderful mental 
change in so short a time ! The physical 
change is equally marvelous. The organ of 




amativeness is now first aroused from its leth- 
argy. The word love has no longer a hidden 
meaning. Her muscles are more developed, 
and the deposition of adipose matter between 
them gives her more of the rotund form. The 



J 6 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

mammary gland, the ovaries, and, in fact, her 
whole being, is infused with new life. 

The most prominent function ushered in at 
this epoch is ovulation, and its accompanying 
symptom, menstruation. Previous to puberty, 
the ovaries were dormant ; no ovisacs could be 
detected in them by the microscopist, but as 
soon as puberty arrives, they spring into being 
as if by magic. 

MENSTRUATION. 

From puberty until the menopause — cessa- 
tion of the menses — that is, as a rule, from the 
age of fifteen to forty-five, woman experiences 
about every lunar month a sanguineous dis- 
charge from the vulva. The amount varies from 
a few ounces to several pints. The discharge 
continues from three to eight days, but there 
are cases where menstruation is continued for 
fifteen to twenty days, and as much blood 
lost as there would be in ordinary childbirth. 
Menstruation manifests some peculiar freaks, 
although it generally begins at fifteen, in this 
climate. 

PECULIAR FREAKS. 

Velpeau, the noted French surgeon, gives a 
case of menstruation at eighteen months. Dr. 
Chas. Wilson gives a case of menses appearing 
at five months. Dr. Rowlett, of Kentucky, 
gives a case of menses at one year of age, and 



PUBERTT AND ITS PHENOMENA. 



77 



pregnancy at nine. The turn of life, or cessa- 
tion, though generally appearing about forty- 
five, may vary from thirty-five to ninety -nine. 

Orfila gives a case, well authenticated, of men- 
struation until ninety-nine. 

Many regard menstruation as the result of 
civilization ; that it is modern born. It is a great 
mistake. The oldest bible 
writers speak of it. In 
Gen. xxxi is the follow- 
ing : "And Rachel said to 
her father, let it not dis- 
please my lord that I 
cannot rise up before 
thee, for the custom of 
women is upon me." 

The menstrual flow 
was, in former times, con- 
sidered a secretion, and 
process, throwing off 
poisonous properties from the blood. Dr. Dew- 
ees, a noted obstetrician of fifty years ago, 
regards it as a secretion, for the reason that 
menstrual blood does not coagulate the same as 
blood taken from a vein ; but there is not the 
least doubt but when first effused it is pure 
blood, but in its passage into the external world 
its coagulability is destroyed by the acid secre- 
tions of the vasfina. 




menstruation a 



78 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

ORIGIN OF THE MENSES. 

Different organs have been, at different times, 
regarded as the source. All scientists now agree 
that it comes from the membrane lining the 
uterine cavity ; that the menstrual flow is a hem- 
orrhage, instead of secretion. 

CAUSE OF MENSES. 

Thomas says: "Until the year 1821, when 
Power first broached the subject, the connection 
between ovulation and menstruation was unsus- 
pected." Every month one or more ova escape 
from the ovary, and the irritation produced in 
the escape is transmitted to the uterus, the 
mucous membrane of which becomes so en- 
gorged with blood that; a rupture of the blood- 
vessels occurs, and hemorrhage is the result. 
The reason that the flow is monthly is because 
the ova escape monthly, and it takes about a 
month for the successive eggs that make their 
escape to become matured. Menstruation is 
analogous to the period of heat in the lower 
animals, and in the monkey tribe there is a 
bloody discharge, with about the same intervals 
as in the human female. 

Ovulation is not necessarily attended with the 
menstrual show, and if it is, the time of each 
may not be the same ; one may anticipate the 
other. For this reason mothers many times 




PUBERTT AND ITS PHENOMENA. 79 

conceive during nursing; although there is no 
show, there is ovulation. 

TURN OF LIFE. 

Turn of life generally occurs about forty-five. 
The ovaries that have been active since puberty 
now relapse into the lethargy 
they manifested at first. The 
symptoms vary in different 
women. The change is some- 
times very gradual; the dis- 
charge becomes less and less 
each month, until its final cessa- 
tion ; but oftentimes there is great irregularity 
both in the time and the quantity of the menses. 
Profuse hemorrhage sometimes occurs at the 
very last menstrual effort. As a rule, there is a 
greater anxiety manifested by women at this so- 
called critical period than science and statistics 
would warrant. Dewees says : " The vulgar 
error that women at this period of life are 
always in danger is replete with mischief to the 
suffering sex." If menstruation were a purifying 
process, by which certain poisonous elements 
are monthly eliminated from the blood, there 
would be good grounds for apprehension on the 
part of women, but such is not the case. 

The ovaries that have for thirty years been 
constantly forming and extruding ova have ful- 



8o 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



filled their mission ; their term of office has ex- 
pired, and menstruation ceases, for the simple 
reason that the cause has been removed. The 
diseases to which the critical period predisposes 
we will consider when treating of disease exclu- 
sively. 




CHAPTER VI. 



SIGNS OF PREGNANCY. 

SUPPRESSION OF THE MENSES is 
generally the first sign that causes a woman 
to think she is enciente, especially if she has 
been regular up to that time. It is not always a 
true monitor, but can generally be relied on. 

Exposure to damp and cold, depressing pas- 
sions, or any violent mental agitation, may be 
the cause of the cessation. Bedford says : " It 
should be recollected, too, that the menses will 
occasionally become arrested soon after mar- 
riage, and continue so for one or more months, 
without the existence of gestation ; the arrest of 
the function in these cases being, most probably, 
due to the new relations of the individual." 

As the stoppage of the monthly flow does not 
infallibly indicate pregnancy, so, likewise, the reg- 
ular appearance does not proclaim the contrary. 
Some ladies menstruate regularly all through 
gestation, and Deventer gives a case where a 
lady menstruated only during gestation, for four 
successive pregnancies. 
6 



82 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

MONTHLY FLOW DURING PREGNANCY. 

" Well," says one, " how is it possible for a 
monthly show to be manifested after conception?" 
Says another : " If there is any sanguineous dis- 
charge, it can be nothing but a hemorrhage, pro- 
duced by a partial separation of the placenta." 
It is sometimes thus produced, and would, of 
course, excite a certain amount of alarm, on ac- 
count of the threatened miscarriage ; but, on the 
other hand, there may be genuine menstruation 
for this reason : The foetus and its surrounding 
bag of waters may occupy but a portion of the 
uterine cavity, and the menses could be formed 
by the free surface, especially that lining the 
cervix. 

Says a doubter : " It is not menstruation, be- 
cause the ovaries during gestation are in a state 
of repose, and there could not be a monthly show 
without ovarian excitement." His objection, as a 
rule, is well founded, but there is abundant evi- 
dence to show that there are cases where ovula- 
tion occurs regularly all through pregnancy. 

NAUSEA AND VOMITING. 

These are quite prominent signs, but it is not 
a constant attendant on the pregnant state, be- 
cause ordinary suppression of the menses, and 
functional or organic disease of the uterus, may 
likewise produce it. The stomach and the womb 



SIGNS OF PREGNANCY. 8 3 

are quite sympathetic, and many ladies, during 
pregnancy, manifest a capricious, and, at times, a 
depraved, appetite — a longing for articles to eat 
that at any other time they loathe. Salivation, 
enlargement of the abdomen and the mammary 
gland, milk in the breasts, swelling of the lower 
extremities, are good signs. 

AREOLxVR CHANGE. 

The areola is the peculiar circle that surrounds 
the nipple. In the virgin it is of a rose tint, but 
during gestation, as a rule, it becomes discolored, 
and the sebaceous follicles become enlarged and 
project from the surface. Uterine diseases may 
produce a similar discoloration, but, when the 
peculiar change in color is accompanied by the 
enlargement of the follicles, it is almost a sure 
sign. Sometimes the pregnant state is unaccom- 
panied with areolar change, but when it is pres- 
ent it may be relied on. 

Quickening is a good sign, but, of course, it 
does not manifest itself until about one half of 
the period of gestation has passed. The signs 
we have given so far are easily comprehended, 
but, if there should be great anxiety in regard 
to obtaining more evidence, a physician should 
be called and he can determine whether preg- 
nancy exists for a certainty. First, by applying 
the stethoscope over the uterine region and 



84 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

listening to the pulsations of the foetal heart, 
and also by listening to what is termed the 
placental murmur, which is a peculiar sound 
produced by the circulation of the blood through 
the placenta. 

There is another way by which pregnancy 
may be determined. It is termed balottement. 
The foetus, recollect, is floating in the amniotic 
liquid, and after the period of quickening will 
move from one part of the bag of waters to 
the other, varying with the position of the 
mother. Sometimes the mother, when she turns 
over quickly in bed, will feel something in the 
uterus fall ; it is produced by the foetus, in- 
fluenced by gravity, descending to the side on 
which she reclines. The physician can de- 
termine the fact of pregnancy in this way : he 
introduces his index finger into the vagina as 
far as the os uteri, and then, by pressing sud- 
denly upward, the foetus of course would pas- 
sively make an ascent, but, through gravity, 
would immediately descend, and the rebound 
would be felt by the finger. This is a satis- 
factory test, as no tumor or disease of the 
womb could produce the peculiar effects. 

KIESTEINE. 

M. Nauche was the first to call attention to 
this peculiar substance, found in the urine of 



SIGJVS OF PREGNANCY 



85 



pregnant women. He supposed it to be the 
caseum of the milk secreted during pregnancy. 
Churchill says : "It resembles a milky cloudi- 
ness through the urine, or a thin, whitish pellicle 
on the top." When the urine is highly colored 
it is quite difficult to detect it. 




CHAPTER VII. 



CHILDBIRTH. 

EVERY married person of either sex should 
have a general knowledge of the modus 
operandi and philosophy of labor. They should 
also understand the nature, causes and treat- 
ment of the various complications and dangers 
peculiar to parturition. 

The object of this chapter is not so much to 
make its readers practical obstetricians, as it is 
to give them such scientific and practical knowl- 
edge that they may appreciate the true physi- 
cian, and, if the case requires, render him assist- 
ance, or, in case he is absent, to act in his place. 
A lady may be sent for to assist in the labor 
about to take place, quite early, long before the 
services of the obstetrician are required. What 
precautions should she observe ? 

Again, the physician may be sent for, but his 
professional duties are such that he does not 
arrive until the labor is far advanced, or perhaps 
completed. Under these circumstances what 
shall she do? Science should be her guide ! 



CHILDBIR TH. 8 J 

MIDWIFERY OF TO-DAY. 

There is still much empirical practice in mid- 
wifery. Many superstitious whims are still in- 
dulged in, but they are fast disappearing. Here 
and there still remain a few vestiges of old-time 
practices, but the robe of mystery that enshrined 
the midwife of the Middle Ages has been un- 
loosed. There is no department of the practice 
of medicine or surgery better understood than 
the science of obstetrics of to-day. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE NURSE. 

The nurse should see that everything is in 
readiness before labor sets in, and as it is im- 
possible to foretell whether the labor will be an 
easy or a difficult one, the following articles 
should be accessible, viz., sweet oil, soap, towels, 
hot and cold water, ice, ligature for the cord. 
For the proper care of the child have in readi- 
ness a blanket to receive it, and a soft sponge, 
castile soap and warm soft water to wash it. 

PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED. 

The womb, as we have before said, is situated 
between the rectum and the bladder. During 
the last stages of pregnancy most ladies are 
subject to constipation and retention of urine ; 
hence, as the fcetus is expelled from the womb, 
it must as a matter of course pass between the 



88 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

distended rectum and bladder. In such the 
labor will be protracted and painful. Particular 
attention should be bestowed on the condition 
of these two organs, and if either is distended 
see that the proper evacuation takes place be- 
fore true labor sets in. 

To evacuate the lower bowel, use the rubber 
bulb syringe. Inject simple water until free 
evacuation is effected. To secure the expulsion 
of the urine, so as to empty the bladder, much 
can be done through will power; if this fails 
let the patient change her position, so that the 
gravid uterus will not exercise so much pressure 
against it ; and if these fail, a sitz bath in warm 
water, by its relaxing effect, may secure free 
urination. 

If all these means fail, as many times they 
will, the attending physician's attention should 
be called to the subject, if he does not make the 
inquiry himself. Inattention to the condition 
of the bladder before labor sets in, has resulted 
in its rupture. Inattention to the constipation, 
has resulted in rupture and abscesses in the 
walls separating the vaginal and rectal canal. 

FIRST SIGNS OF LABOR. 

For a day or two before labor sets in, there is 
a large amount of mucus thrown off by the 
lining: membrane of the vagina. Sometimes the 



CHILDBIRTH. 09 

mucus is streaked with blood ; this is called the 
shows. The parts are undergoing the requisite 
changes, to secure an easy transmission of the 
child. 

All through the period of gestation, the os 
uteri has been closed. For nine months since 
the spark of life was kindled, not by the 
concussion of steel and flint, but by the com- 
mingling of sperm and germ, the womb has 
been the home of the foetus. The foetus is 
matured. A grand metamorphosis is about to 
take place. New relations are to be assumed. 
A change of climate is sought. The strug- 
gling being seeks new realms. Moving day 
has arrived. The nine months time lock is 
breaking the seal. The parturient effort has 
commenced ; the os uteri is becoming dilated. 
The first pains of labor are called grinding, 
and are produced by the dilatation of the os. 
The time required for the os to become dilated 
varies, and I think the temperament has much 
to do in regulating the rapidity. As a general 
rule, ladies of a blonde appearance have easier 
and more rapid labors than the brunette. There 
is but little to be done in the first stage of labor. 
Let the patient get in any position that gives 
her any ease. Gratify her whims and quiet her 
fears. 



90 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

WHEN SHOULD AN EXAMINATION BE MADE? 

An examination should be made as soon as 
the mouth of the womb is sufficiently dilated. 
Many times the attending nurse will advise the 
patient to hold the breath and bear down ; that 
it will expedite the labor. It will do no good 
in the first stage of labor ; Nature will advise 
when to bear down. 

The examination having been made, and the 
presentation ascertained, in the majority of 
cases nothing is to be done but to quiet the fears 
manifested. Hands off is the motto. Nature, 
as a rule, is sufficient for the task. I am often 
asked whether it is advisable to administer chlo- 
roform in obstetrical cases. My answer is yes, 
if it is administered by an experienced person. 
By the use of anaesthetics much pain can be 
averted, and the labor not in the least retarded 
or complicated. No one but the educated 
medical attendant should administer a remedy 
so capable of alleviating so much suffering, and 
at the same time so potent for evil if in the 
hands of the ignorant. 

SECOND PAINS OF LABOR. 

As soon as the portals of the womb are open, 
in an instant, and almost in the same breath, the 
scene changes. Heretofore the pains have been 
cutting, grinding, now the womb, which is a hoi- 



CHILDBIRTH. 9 1 

low muscle, begins to contract in every direction 
to expel its contents. The bearing down pains 
have set in ; holding the breath and bearing 
down is now of some service, and expedites the 
delivery. Although the womb, without doubt, 
has sufficient contractile power to expel its con- 
tents, yet holding the breath at this stage is a 
valuable auxiliary. 

As the womb contracts, the bag of waters is pro- 
truded. It presents a conical form, its apex point- 
ing outward. The part of the sac that presents at 
the os really performs the office of a wedge, and 
greatly assists in still farther dilating the mouth. 

The membranes entering into the structure of 
the protruding sac are sometimes quite frail, and 
break prematurely before the os is dilated. In 
such a case the labor will be retarded. Some- 
times the membranes are strong and unyielding, 
and the womb has not sufficient contractile power 
to rupture them. In such cases manual interfer- 
ence is required. There have been cases where 
the complete sac unruptured has been expelled. 

BORN WITH A VEIL. 

Sometimes, the membranes that entered into 
the sac, after being broken, become accidentally 
adhered to the face of the child. The child, 
when born in that way, is said to be born with a 
veil over its face. 



9 2 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

It is considered by some a wonderful freak of 
Nature, and there are many at the present time 
who still cherish this vestige of superstition, that 
a child born in this way is a genius, and en- 
dowed with clairvoyant powers. It is the most 
palpable fallacy. For my part, I cannot see how 
a person born in that way can possess a deeper 
or clearer vision than if born with a pair of 
green goggles on, if the thing were possible. 

Nearly all of our first-class cities have several 
of these veil-over-t he-face seers. There still 
exists in many minds enough of the marvelous 
element, so that this form of quackery is well 
patronized. 

As the womb contracts, after the sac is rup- 
tured, and the waters have escaped, any part of 
the foetus may present. The head is the most 
natural and the most common presentation ; the 
breech next. With the exceptions of the shoul- 
der or arm, Nature, as a rule, is capable, unaided, 
to accomplish the delivery. 

In the case of an unnatural presentation, the 
services of an educated and experienced medical 
attendant are required, and should be obtained 
if possible. If the medical attendant does not 
arrive until late, the husband, or some of the 
lady attendants, should make a vaginal examina- 
tion, to determine the presentation. The time 
to make the examination is as soon as the cut- 



CHILDBIRTH. 93 

ting pains are fully established. Do not wait 
until the bag of waters is ruptured, and the 
waters have escaped, as it may then be too late 
to rectify the malposition of the foetus, if such 
should be the case. 

HOW TO MAKE THE EXAMINATION. 

Dr. Churchill gives the following directions : 
" The patient should lie on her left side, with the 
hips near to the edge of the bed, and the knees 
drawn up toward the abdomen. The forefinger 
of the right hand, having been well oiled, should 
be passed along the perineum into the vaginal 
passage. Pass the finger along the vagina, and 
you will, in the majority of cases, easily reach 
the os uteri, and you can determine to what 
extent the mouth of the womb is dilated, and 
even if the membranes are unruptured, you can 
ascertain the presenting part." 

If it is the head or breech presenting, you can 
just take it easy, and not worry. 

It is not necessary for the patient during the 
first pains to undress and take the bed ; but let 
her do as she pleases ; her judgment will direct 
her better than yours can. 

Much of the pain complained of during the 
second stage of labor is referred to the lumbar 
region. The nurse should see that this part is 
well supported. Proper support to the perineum 



94 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

is required as the child is passing the lower 
strait. Inattention to this precaution might re- 
sult in a recto-vaginal fissure. 

CARE OF THE CHILD. 

The nurse should see that a warm flannel is 
in readiness to receive the new being. If res- 
piration does not take place immediately, see 
that its mouth and nostrils are not closed up with 
mucus, and if such is the case, remove it at once. 
Sometimes the umbilical cord is coiled one or 
more times around the neck, if so, it should be 
uncoiled at once. As soon as respiration is es- 
tablished, attend to lioratino- the cord. Whether 
one or two ligatures should be used, is a matter 
of opinion, and some claim that after the circula- 
tion in the cord has ceased no ligature is required. 
In regard to the further care of the child, as far 
as cleanliness and clothing are required, your 
own good sense must be the guide. Without de- 
voting space to describing the minutiae, that any 
nurse in the neighborhood understands, I wish 
now to dwell at some length on the peculiarities, 
dangers and % complications of childbirth, not gen- 
erally considered in popular works. 

After the child has been separated from the 
mother, and handed to the nurse or lady attend- 
ant, prompt attention should be devoted to the 
mother. 



CHILDBIRTH. 95 

CARE OF THE MOTHER. 

The mother should be kept as quiet as possi- 
ble. The medical attendant should press gently 
over the abdomen, in the uterine region, and as- 
certain whether there is a thorough contraction 
of the womb. If, on pressure, something like a 
globular tumor is felt, there has been sufficient 
uterine contraction, but if on pressure the parts 
are soft and flabby, there is danger ahead. How 
many mother have been drowned, so to speak, in 
their own heart's blood, on account of inattention 
to this subject. 

THE PLACENTA, OR AFTERBIRTH. HOW REMOVED. 

The placenta, as heretofore explained, is close- 
ly attached to the inner surface of the uterus, 
and, as the womb contracts to expel the foetus, 
its cavity becomes smaller, and the afterbirth, as 
a matter of course, is generally peeled off. When 
the uterine contraction is thorough, the placenta 
is not only separated from the womb, but the 
uterine sinuses that have been lacerated by said 
separation are closed up, so that there is no dan- 
ger from hemorrhage. The afterbirth is still in 
the uterine cavity, but in a short time it will be 
expelled ; but sometimes the foetus is expelled, 
and the afterbirth is not separated in the least ; 
if you press on the abdomen, over the uterus, 
there is a soft and flabby feel. What shall be 



9 6 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

done ? My answer is, nothing. Give the womb 
a period of at least one-half hour's repose, and, 
if then there is no uterine action, use gentle 
traction on the cord ; not too much, lest it be 
broken ; and, at the same time, gentle pressure 
should be made over the abdomen. 

The cases that we have as yet considered, are 
those where the retention of the placenta is 
unaccompanied by flooding. 

FLOODING, AND WHAT TO DO. 

In cases where hemorrhage is a prominent 
symptom, the placenta is partially or completely 
separated. Where flooding is the prominent 
symptom, uterine action should be secured as 
soon as possible, so that complete separation 
of placenta be effected and the bleeding lacera- 
tions closed up. 

Generally the powers of Nature are sufficient 
to effect a complete detachment of the placenta, 
and in no case get alarmed if its retention is 
unaccompanied with profuse loss of blood. Give 
Nature a chance. Meddlesome midwifery is to 
be despised. 

ABNORMAL ADHESIONS OF THE PLACENTA. WHAT 
TO DO. 

The placenta is ofttimes subject to disease, 
as for instance it maybe subject to inflammation, 
hypertrophy, atrophy, or it may be the seat of 



CHILDBIR TH. 9 J 

calcareous and cartilaginous degeneration. In 
many of its diseased states it is strongly ad- 
hered to the inner surface of the womb ; it is 
then, in popular language, grown to the side of 
the womb. 

In these cases of morbid adhesions the phy- 
sician is justified, and in fact it is his duty, to 
insert his hand into the uterine cavity, and by 
inserting his fingers between the placenta and 
womb, break them. Sometimes the adhesions 
only cover a small portion of the placenta, and 
then the detachment is easily effected. There 
are cases where the whole uterine surface of the 
afterbirth is so cemented to the womb that the 
detachment cannot be effected ; the afterbirth 
is left, in situ, to be dislodged by decomposition. 
There is always danger of flooding if the de- 
tachment is effected by physical force, and the 
midwife should be careful that the womb is 
excited to contraction while he is effecting the 
separation. 

There are many causes that at times produce 
a retention of the placenta, that we have not 
time at present to explain. 

HOW TO STOP FLOODING. 

The principal cause for the profuse hemor- 
rhage that often takes place after the child is 
born, is deficient uterine contraction. Church- 

7 



9o PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

ill says : " The first object is to produce a firm 
and persistent contraction ; and to effect this 
whilst with one hand we firmly grasp the uterus, 
with the other cold is to be suddenly applied 
to the genitals by means of cloths dipped in cold 
water. The advantage of grasping the uterus 
is that we thereby secure an artificial contrac- 
tion, as it were, until the means employed effect 
a real one." 

Ergot may be given at the same time, and 
in no case is it more beneficial. Cold enemata 
and cold drinks are also valuable auxiliaries. 
If these fail we may pour cold water from a 
height upon the abdomen, and the shock will 
generally succeed in rousing the uterus to action. 
A current of electricity passed through the ab- 
domen in the uterine region will succeed many 
times when everything else fails. 

EXTREME CASE. 

Dr. Bedford gives a case of flooding in which 
all the various agents to secure uterine contrac- 
tion had failed, and as a dernier ressort he 
inserted a small piece of ice into the womb and 
passed it over the lining membrane. Its effect 
was almost miraculous. 

PLUGGING VAGINA. 

After everything else has been tried, the last 
resort is the plugging of the vaginawith towels and 



CHILDBIRTH. 99 

napkins, so that no more of the vital fluid can 
escape. Apparently all is well. The nurse ex- 
claims: " Doctor, why did you not think of that 
before?" The doctor makes no reply. The 
nurse, through ignorance, cherishes a delusive 
hope. The doctor knows that all is not safe yet. 
Closely he watches the ex-sanguine countenance ; 
carefully he feels the pulse of the patient — it is 
now scarcely perceptible, and is growing weaker. 
Death soon claims another victory. Syncope 
closes the scene. 

INTERNAL HEMORRHAGE. 

This is a case of internal hemorrhage. Not- 
withstanding no blood escaped externally, after 
the obstructions to its exit were placed in the 
vagina, yet all the time there was an escape from 
those unclosed lacerated uterine sinuses into 
the large cavity that exists in the womb. 

BINDER FOR THE MOTHER. 

It is customary to bandage the mother after 
the delivery, although some of our best midwives 
discard it entirely. When the bandage is ap- 
plied, care should be taken that it is not drawn 
too tightly, and that it does not tend to depress 
the womb. Improperly applied bandages is a 
very common cause of the many cases of prolap- 
sus uteri in married ladies. 



IOO PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

AFTERPAINS. 

These peculiar pains generally commence in a 
short time after the expulsion of the afterbirth. 
They vary much in frequency, duration and in- 
tensity in different cases. They are the result 
of contractions of the womb to expel the clots 
that are formed in the uterine cavity. But little 
is to be done, and the patient should know these 
contractions of the womb tend to make the womb 
more compact, and are, in fact, so many safe- 
guards against future hemorrhage. To lessen 
these pains, the doctor sometimes administers a 
mild opiate. Give one-half teaspoonful of pare- 
goric every two hours ; or, perhaps, three grains 
of Dover's Powder would be full better. 

CONVALESCENCE. 

Mothers should observe the greatest precau- 
tions in regard to hygiene during their convales- 
cence. Rest and hope, they will find to be the 
best tonics. Every mother, after the birth of the 
child, should keep the bed at least three weeks, 
and in cases where there is much debility, she 
should much longer. Many mothers think they 
must get around on their feet on the ninth day 
after their confinement. Many ladies have told 
me that they never had anything like falling of 
the womb until after the birth of their first child, 
and when I asked them how soon they got around 



CHILDBIRTH. IOI 

on their feet, invariably the reply was, about a 
week. 

Recollect that the womb, after the birth of the 
child, weighs at least fifteen times as much as it 
did in the virgin state, and that after confinement 
it undergoes a process of absorption. It is some- 
times a month before it resumes anything like 
its original weight. Hence it is evident, if the 
mother gets around by the ninth day, there are 
two causes to produce prolapsus, viz : the excess- 
ive weight of the womb and the atonic state of 
the vagina. 

Particular attention should be devoted to the 
condition of the rectum and bladder during the 
convalescence. Where there is constipation, free 
enemata of simple water is all that is required. 
Free urination, and removal of many of those 
scalding sensations, can be generally secured by 
living more on ripe fruit, and abstaining from the 
use of salt and the various condiments. Mucilag- 
inous drinks are good, and the best and most 
easily prepared is slippery elm tea. 

LACTATION AND ITS DERANGEMENTS. 

The mammary gland is composed of several 
lobes connected by a soft spongy tissue, termed 
areolar tissue. These lobes are traversed in 
every direction by milk tubes, termed the tubuli 
lactiferi ; these tubuli commence in the vesicular 



102 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

substance of the gland. The tubes all converge 
and empty into the canal that traverses the 
nipple. These glands are but little developed 
until puberty. During gestation they increase 
in size, but, as a rule, true milk is not secreted 
until after parturition. Churchill says: "In or- 
dinary cases, however, the breasts remain qui- 
escent for about twenty-four hours, but soon after 
that begin to enlarge with stings of pain. At 
the end of the second or third day they are 
perceptibly larger, heavier and more tense." 
The secretion at first is quite slow, but soon 
becomes more free, and the more free the se- 
cretion the less pain and fever is present. The 
milk during the first four or five days differs in 
composition from that secreted afterward. The 
first milk secreted is the natural purgative for 
the child. 

ABSCESS OF THE BREAST. 

The mammary organ is sometimes so con- 
gested after delivery that its proper function is 
not performed, and there is no milk secreted. 
The congestion may proceed to inflammation, 
and possibly terminate in an abscess. 

During the congested or inflamed stages there 
is a general feverish state of the system. The 
patient complains of sharp lancinating pains 
through the gland, and all of those peculiar 
symptoms attendant on glandular inflammation. 



CHILDBIR TH. 1 03 

If it proceed to suppuration the fact can be 
easily determined. 

The formation of the abscess is ushered in 
with shivering, followed by heat and perspira- 
tion. The fluctuation of the tumor is a certain 
sign of suppuration. 

Treat the disease in the commencement with 
constitutional and local remedies. Purge the 
bowels with epsom salts ; cooling drinks should 
be given ; warm applications to the gland ; dip 
cloths in warm water and then apply them to 
the organ, but be sure that a dry cloth is spread 
over the wet ones, that the warmth may be 
retained and evaporation, to a certain extent, 
prevented. A hop poultice is a good applica- 
tion, and let it cover the whole gland. Change 
the poultices often, and let them be applied as 
warm as they can be borne. If an abscess is 
formed let it be opened as soon as possible. 

SORE NIPPLES. 

This is a troublesome affection, as it really 
concerns both mother and child. 

Mothers with their first child are more apt 
to be troubled with this affliction. Without 
going into details of cause and symptoms, I 
shall consider at once the treatment. 

Do not apply the child to the nipple, entrust 
it to a wet nurse. Carpenter says : " The 



104 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

reiterated application of the child to the breast 
is the most common cause. The repeated at- 
tempts at nursing remove the sebaceous se- 
cretion, so that the skin contracts and finally 
cracks." 

Application of a little cream, olive oil or 
glycerine is many times all that is required. 
Mr. Druit recommends a solution of five grains 
of tannin in an ounce of distilled water. If a 
wet nurse cannot be secured for the child, nip- 
ple shields must be used. 

The secret of cure is to have something inter- 
vene between the child's mouth and the nipple. 
Bathing the nipple in some mild astringent 
solution during the last stages of gestation, will 
so harden the cuticle that, in nursing, this afflic- 
tion will scarcely ever be met with. There are 
many more diseases peculiar to pregnancy and 
the result of parturition, that will be considered 
when treating exclusively on diseases of women. 




CHAPTER VIII. 



STERILITY. 

IF a woman cannot conceive, she is barren, 
sterile; and many ladies at the present, as in 
bible times, consider it a reproach to their 
womanhood to be sterile. Sarah was so anxious 
that a child should be born to Abraham that she 
sacrificed her highest womanhood, by granting to 
Hagar the privilege of wifehood, and an Ishmael 
was the result ; but God blessed her in her old 
age, and Isaac was born. From what we have 
said in regard to the philosophy of conception, 
the various causes of sterility can be easily pre- 
sented to the popular mind, and these causes we 
will put in two divisions : first, those that can be 
removed ; second, those that can not. 

REMOVABLE CAUSES. 

Leucorrhcea, in American ladies, is a very 
common cause, for this reason, the leucorrhceal 
secretion is many times so acrid, excoriating 
and caustic that it destroys the vitality of the 
male sperms, so that they cannot work them- 



io6 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



selves up through the os into the uterine cavity. 
Another reason why ladies subject to the whites 
do not conceive is, the secretions from the dis- 
eased membrane so occlude the mouth of the 
womb, it is impossible for the sperms to enter. 
Cure the leucorrhcea, and the sterility disappears. 
Many ladies are going to a premature grave 
from the great drain on the system which the 
whites produce ; but at the same time they seek 
no cure for it, saying they prefer the whites to 
excessive childbearing. 

Elongation of the cervix uteri is a com- 
mon cause, for the reason its shape is such that 
it is impossible for the sperms to enter the uter- 
ine cavity. Thomas says : " This is one of the 
most common causes, and one that is easily reme- 
died by surgery." 

Flexions and displacements of the womb 
are common causes, for the reason they may 
either prevent the sperm from gaining access to 
the womb, or the canal traversing the womb may 
be so obstructed that the sperm, although it may 
enter, still is not able to pursue its journey far 
enough to meet the Qgg. 

Excessive Menstruation may dislodge the 
ovum after it becomes impregnated. This, no 
doubt, is a common cause. 

Membranous dysmenorrhcea is where at each 
menstrual period a false membrane is thrown off 



STERILITY. I07 

from the inner lining of the womb, leaving the 
surface in such a condition that conception can- 
not take place. 

Uterine leucorrhcea is where the lining 
membrane of the womb is diseased, and it is a 
very prominent cause of sterility. I will be 
somewhat explicit in explaining how this disease 
produces barrenness. Suppose a healthy ovum 
is extruded from the ovary, and has started on 
its journey. Coition takes place, and the male 
sperm gains access to the womb ; the sperm and 
germ come in contact. All locomotion in the 
egg now ceases, and it becomes fixed to the 
lining membrane of the womb ; but on account 
of the disease of the membrane, the attachments 
are too frail, and a miscarriage is the result. To 
cure this form of sterility, cure the uterine leucor- 
rhcea ; restore a healthy condition to the mucous 
membrane, and then when impregnation takes 
place, the whole period of gestation will be com- 
pleted. Our space is too limited to devote any 
more of it to the removable causes. 

CAUSES NOT REMOVABLE. 

The Ovaries are sometimes absent, and oft- 
times when present they are so atrophied or 
hypertrophied, and otherwise diseased, that ova 
are not formed. The fallopian tubes are some- 
times imperforate; so even if the ovaries were 



io8 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



normal, it would be impossible for the ovum to 
enter the uterine cavity. The uterus is some- 
times wanting, or so atrophied it cannot perform 
the office God has bestowed on it. 

IMPOTENCE OF THE MALE. 

Wives need not take all the reproach (if such 
is the proper term to use) to themselves because 
there are no children in the household. The 
whole cause of sterility may rest with the hus- 
band. The testes of the male are sometimes so 
undeveloped that healthy semen is not secreted. 

Nondescent of the testis from the abdom- 
inal cavity is not always, but is sometimes, the 
cause of impotence, and wives of such husbands 
are barren. Sometimes the semen is normal 
in quantity and quality, but on account of some 
stricture of the urethra, or on account of the 
urethra being partly obliterated by the pressure 
of an enlarged prostate gland, the semen is not 
ejaculated until the erection has disappeared. 

Carpenter, in his " Comparative Physiology," 
says: " It must be observed that there is a cer- 
tain degree of antagonism between the nutritive 
and the generative functions ; the one set being 
exercised at the expense of the other." We see 
this fact illustrated among the lower animals ; 
the higher fed, the fatter, the less the reproduc- 
tive power. Imperfectly developed semen is 



STERILITY. IO9 

a common cause of sterility. Those boys that 
practiced masturbation, and when they arrived 
at manhood were troubled with involuntary 
seminal emissions, are ofttimes impotent, and if 
they get married no children are begotten, for 
this reason : the spermatozoa in the semen are 
dwarfs, and do not possess enough vibratile 
power to gain entrance into the womb, and even 
if they should effect the entrance, they would be 
too imperfectly developed to fertilize the ova. 

Excessive sexual intercourse on the part 
of the male so impoverishes the semen, that it 
has no fecundating power. If the interval be- 
tween the sexual acts were prolonged, there 
would be fewer cases of sterility. 

Acton says : " The complete development of 
the spermatozoa in their full proportion of num- 
ber is not achieved till the semen has reached 
and has for some time lain in the vesiculce semi- 
nales. Earlier after its secretion, the semen 
contains none of these bodies." 

general causes of sterility. 

Previous to the age of puberty, and after the 
cessation of the menses, Nature makes all women 
sterile. There are some exceptions to this, as 
there are to most rules. Sarah gave birth to 
Isaac when she was ninety years of age. In 
Gen. xviii, nth verse, is the following: "Now 



HO PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken 
in age ; and it ceased to be with Sarah after 
the manner of women." It is claimed that 
frigidity of feeling, as well as its opposite — too 
intense passion — results sometimes in barren- 
ness. 

Similarity of temperaments, it is claimed, 
results in unfruitful marriages, as a rule, and if 
children are begotten they will be puny and 
short-lived. Dr. W. Byrd Powel, of Kentucky, 
claims it is physiologically incestuous for the best 
temperaments to be joined in marriage. 

Acton says: "In considering the subject of 
sterility, it should not be forgotten that Idiosyn- 
crasies exist in all animals. A male and female 
may be perfectly potent and fertile, and yet be 
unable to breed together. In fact, the semen of 
one male, from some hidden cause, will not im- 
pregnate a particular female though it will 
others. What is true in the animal world 
is equally true in the human. To illustrate : 
Josephine had children by Beauharnois, her first 
husband, but was cast aside by Napoleon on 
account of her sterility. The marriage of Napo- 
leon to Louisa was, however, a fruitful one. 

Climate and age and season seem many 
times to influence fertility. Sometimes the re- 
productive functions make no fruitful returns 
until after a long lapse of years. Dr. Tilt, of 



STERILITT. 



I II 



London, mentions the case of a woman who 
was married at eighteen, but, although both 
husband and wife were in good health, they had 
no children given them until she was forty '-eight 
years of age. 




CHAPTER IX. 



HOW TO REGULATE THE SEX. 

MANY young married couples start out with 
the desire to have but two children — a 
boy and a girl, but, by not understanding the 
physiological facts pertaining to this topic, a large 
family has many times been the result before the 
desired gender was secured. Many would-be 
moralists say it is thwarting the plans of Provi- 
dence by attempting to regulate the sex ; they 
say children have a right to be born, and that 
man has no right to control the sex that was 
predetermined and foreordained from the founda- 
tion of the earth. I know no reason why par- 
ents should not understand and apply the laws 
of sex as well as investigate and control other 
well-established laws of nature. Nature has no 
secrets. The Bible is the Word of God. Nature 
is the work of the same Great Being, and every 
fact and principle taught, in both his works and 
word, invite human research. So far as we un- 
derstand a law of nature, so far we can manipu- 
late it ; so far we are Divine. We understand 



HOW TO REGULATE THE SEX. 113 

the laws of electricity, and the same power by 
which we can send a telegram to London, is but 
little inferior to that great power by which God 
can send his angels on errands of mercy. We 
understand the laws of light, and the same power 
by which we can manipulate them in the various 
arts is but little inferior to that great power by 
which God said : " Let there be light, and there 
was light." There is no cherubim or flaming 
sword turning every direction to keep the way 
of the tree of knowledge. The time has arrived 
when we can raise a boy or girl at will ; we have 
plucked more fruit and have eaten. 

PROF. THURY'S THEORY. 

The first method I shall give by which we reg- 
ulate the sex, is one that has been deduced from 
the experiments of Prof. Thury on the lower an- 
imals ; and the facts obtained from those experi- 
ments have been confirmed by many scientific 
and reliable stock breeders with whom I have 
conversed in different parts of the west. Those 
experiments evidently showed, if you wish to 
produce females, admit the male at the first signs 
of heat ; but if you wish males, admit the male 
at the end of the heat. In regulating the sex in 
the human family, we claim that, as a rule, im- 
pregnation will not take place after the first four- 
teen days after ovulation, and that if coition takes 



I 14 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

place the first seven days a girl will be the re- 
sult, but if it does not take place until after the 
first seven days it will result in a boy. Parents, 
observe these precautions ; though simple, yet 
they will effect the desired result. 

INFLUENCE OF AGE. 

Carpenter says : " That the more advanced 
age of the male parent has a very decided in- 
fluence in occasioning a preponderance in the 
number of male infants." 

SEXUAL WHIMS. 

Trail, in his " Sexual Physiology," says : " One 
discoverer is very sure that sex is determined in 
some way by planetary influences — conception 
occurring from twelve d clock, noon, to midnight, 
resulting in female offspring, the remaining twelve 
of each twenty-four hours being appropriated to 
the male gender. Another is perfectly certain 
that the sex depends on the points of the com- 
pass." 

These are fallacies, of course, but are no more 
ridiculous than to believe that if you plant your 
corn in one time of the moon it will draw the 
roots down through the earth, and they will 
spring out on somebody else's farm. The moon 
superstitions are fast fading away. 



HOW TO REGULATE THE SEX. I I 5 

THEORY OF SIXT. 

Dr. P. F. Sixt, a German physician, has revived 
the old theory advocated by Hippocrates, that 
the right testis secretes the semen that will im- 
pregnate the male ovum, which is formed by the 
right ovary ; the left testis secretes the semen 
that will impregnate the female ovum, which is 
formed by the left ovary. He claims that during 
ovulation, sometimes, one ovary may extrude the 
egg, and at the next menstruation the other 
ovary. He also claims, that in coition the semen 
emitted is from one testicle only, and that testis 
from which it is emitted is drawn up by the cre- 
master muscle. 

These are the main facts of this novel theory. 
Dr. Trail (now deceased) was a strong advocate 
of it in this country, and has devoted about one- 
sixth of his work on sexual physiology to dis- 
cussing it. I would refer the reader who is anx- 
ious to obtain the minute details in regard to 
the theory to the aforesaid work. 




CHAPTER X. 



LAWS OF GENERATION. 

WHEN sexual coition is indulged in for 
the purpose of begetting offspring, it 
should be at such times when both parents are 
in the best condition physically and mentally ; 
and not only at the time of intercourse should 
this precaution be observed, but for some time 
previous, for the reason the sperm of the father 
and the ovum of the mother are influenced 
during their formation by the mental and phy- 
sical status of the parents. 

PARENTAGE. 

To perform the office of parentage in the 
light of modern science, requires study and care. 
Let the first birth be right, and the second birth 
will be natural and not protracted. Suppose 
the husband has been on a drunken spree ; or 
has had his anger very much excited ; perhaps 
he has been doing a hard day's work, and his 
physical powers are prostrated ; perhaps he has 
been losing money in speculation, and his 



LAWS OF GENERATION. Hj 

mind is despondent ; if sexual intercourse is 
indulged under these circumstances, those ab- 
normal conditions of body and mind are indelibly 
stamped on the foetusf. On the other hand, sup- 
pose the wife has been doing a hard day's work ; 
perhaps she has received news of the death of 
some dear friend ; or for some other reason her 
mind or body is not on a healthy plane, coition 
will transmit those qualities of mind and body 
to the foetus. These are facts indisputable, and 
the laws of heredity are now as well understood 
as those of gravitation, light or heat. 

MOTHER'S RELATION TO CHILD. 

At the time of sexual intercourse the father's 
relation to the foetus is physiologically termi- 
nated ; not so with the mother ; all through the 
period of gestation every emotion, every passion, 
every thought, every physical change she ex- 
periences is indelibly stamped on the new being. 
The die is cast — the seal cannot be broken. 
If there is any time when the wife should F be 
tenderly treated, it is while she is enceinte. 

HUSBAND'S DUTY. 

Husbands, treat your wives well when preg- 
nant, if at no other time ; the destiny of an 
immortal being is at stake, whether it shall be 
for weal or woe you can determine. 



I I 8 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

Husbands, when your wife is pregnant, extend 
to her all the sympathy you can summon. 
Gratify every whim ; keep her good natured ; 
assume more of the household duties ; lighten 
her cares ; make home pleasant, and the sur- 
roundings agreeable; and take my word for it, 
you will be fully rewarded, and with compound 
interest, in the new being that soon will be a 
member of the household. 

Parents, the richest legacy you can bequeath 
your offspring is "Mens sana in corpore sano, ,r 
a sound mind in a sound body. 

Health, without a dime, is preferable to scrof- 
ula with all the millions of a Vanderbilt or a 
Stewart. King David, in Psalms li, 5, says : 
" Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin 
did my mother conceive me." 

TRISTRAM SHANDY'S OPINION. 

Sterne causes his hero — Tristram Shandy — 
to utter the following : " I wish my father or my 
mother, or indeed both of them, as they were in 
duty equally bound to it, had minded what they 
were about when they begot me ; had they duly 
considered how much depended upon what they 
were then doing ; that not only the production 
of a rational being was concerned in it, but that 
possibly the happy formation and temperature 
of his body, perhaps his genius and the very 



LAWS OF GENERATION. HO. 

cast of his mind, and perhaps the fortunes of 
his whole house, might take the humors and 
dispositions then uppermost. Had they duly 
weighed and considered all this and proceeded 
accordingly, I am verily persuaded I should 
have made quite a different figure in the world 
from what the reader is likely to see me. 
Believe me, good folks, this is not so inconsider- 
able a thing as many of you think." 

HOW TO RAISE JUST SUCH OFFSPRING AS YOU 
MAY DESIRE. 

Would you have healthy children, mothers ? 
if so, be sure and attend to every hygienic 
law during gestation ; you and the fcetus are 
one in fact. The umbilical cord is the uter- 
ine cable over which all the physical and 
psychical dispatches are sent from mother to 
fcetus. Mothers, see that you manufacture 
plenty of blood, and that which is pure in 
quality. Be sure and attend to the hygiene of 
digestion ; avoid highly seasoned food ; abstain 
from stimulants and condiments ; take more 
time at the table ; see that nothing interferes 
with the most complete oxygenation and proper 
circulation of the blood ; pure air and plenty of 
it makes pure blood ; throw away corsets and 
stays and give the ribs freedom of action ; be 
temperate in your household duties ; learn to 



120 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



shirk ; keep off your feet as much as possible ; 
get plenty of sleep. Let Hygeia, the god- 
dess of health, be your director, and you 
will be doubly rewarded by not only the health 




HEALTHY OFFSPRING. 



terminating with yourself, but also by transmit- 
ting healthy qualities to your child yet unborn. 
The bible and science both teach that it is more 
blessed to give than to receive. Parents should 
consider it a religious duty to transmit the most 
complete physical health to their offspring. 



LAWS OF GENERATION. 



12 



HOW TO BEGET INTELLIGENT OFFSPRING. 

Every mother is anxious that her offspring 
may manifest an inclination for study ; that it 
may have a brain that will seek cultivation ; 



f'fp\l ^ r ', r 




that it may earn its bread by brain activity 
rather than by physical toil. Mothers, if such 
is your desire, be studious during pregnancy, if 
at no other time. Read, observe, meditate; the 
child will be a duplicate of yourself; your men- 
tal powers will be focalized in it. 



122 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 




MORAL CHILDREN. 

If you would have the 
moral and religious organs 
well developed, cultivate 
and practice benevolence; 
let the higher faculties of 
your mind hold the scepter; 
let faith, hope and charity 
be the triune ruler ; subject 
the propensities to serfdom. 



GOOD-LOOKING CHILDREN. 

Would you have your offspring good-looking, 
and manifesting a love for the beautiful ; artistic 
in its tastes, and poetical in its 
conceptions. Keep that part 
of your nature active ; visit 
museums of art; study the 
ideal as well as the real ; be 
choice in your language ; attend 
to personal neatness. 




GOOD-NATURED CHILDREN. 

If you would have good-natured children, be 
good-natured yourself. Soar above the irritabil- 
ities peculiar to the pregnant state. Have a good 
time. If melancholy seizes you as its victim, 



LAWS OF GENERATION. 



123 



free yourself from its grasp by a visit to your 
neighbor, and have a pleasant chat. Do clouds 
of doubt and fogs of apprehension darken your 




pathway, dissipate them with a good laugh. If 
you are cross and irritable during gestation, your 
child will enter this world a snarling, and it will 
snarl all through life, but if, on the other hand, 
you are cheerful during pregnancy, the child will 
enter the world a smiling, and will laugh more 
than frown all through its earthly existence. 

MOTHERS' MARKS. 

As there is much superstition existing in re- 
gard to these peculiar freaks, and how they are 



124 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

produced, I will devote considerable space to this 
subject. Carpenter says: "But there appear to 
be a sufficient number of facts on record to prove 
that habitual mental conditio7is on the part of the 
mother may have influence enough, at an early 
period of gestation, to produce evident bodily de- 
formity, or peculiar tendencies of the mind. The 
error of the vulgar notion on this subject lies in 
supposing a sudden fright, speedily forgotten, 
can exert such a continual influence on the nutri- 
tion of the embryo as to occasion any personal 
peculiarity." Again he says : " There is another 
class of subjects to which tumors come into close 
relation, and which must be referred, like them, 
to a local excess of formative activity; these are 
the super nu7nerary parts, which are not unfre- 
quently developed during foetal life, as, for ex- 
ample, additional fingers and toes!' 

MIND INFLUENCE. 

Faith will remove mountains of disease ; and 
equally true, a constant fixation of the mind — an 
expectation, so to speak — on the part of the mother 
during pregnancy, will affect the foetus. Mind 
has a great influence over the process of nutri- 
tion, and in fact over all the physiological func- 
tions. The utterance of a single word or sigh, 
how it will make the tears stream down your 
cheeks ; it is mind controlling the lachrymal 



LAWS OF GENERATION. I 25 

gland ; and if any of you have been a long time 
from home, how your heart will jump on the re- 
ceipt of good news. 

Heart disease may be produced by the con- 
stant expectation that it is diseased. Constantly 
brooding over the idea that you are afflicted with 
consumption, although your lungs on the start are 
perfectly healthy, will soon make you its victim. 

FAITH CURES. 

We sometimes ridicule the idea that a red 
string around the neck will prevent the nose 
bleeding ; that black cats grease is a specific 
for burns ; that poulticing the razor will cure 
the cut ; that carrying a horse-chestnut will cure 
the piles ; yet that they effect real cures many 
times is a fact. It is not that any intrinsic 
therapeutical quality of the remedy has effected 
the cure, but it is the faith, the constant ex- 
pectation, that has done the work. 

BIBLE TESTIMONY. 

Jacob of old, 1739 years before the Christian 
era, understood more in regard to hereditary 
transmission than many at the present time, and 
he was as shrewd a financier as he was sound 
and practical in science. I will not give the 
details of Jacob and his double fatker-in-law, 
Laban, see Genesis xxx and xxxi. 



126 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



In i Samuel, first chapter, we learn how- 
Samuel was begotten. The prayers of Hanna 
during her conception and gestation were focal- 
ized in the unborn child, and it is easy to see 
why Samuel was truly a man after God's own 
heart. 

CASES OF MOTHERS' MARKS. 

L. N. Fowler, in his work on marriage, gives 
the following: "Children born during the Reign 
of Terror, in France, were to a vast proportion 
idiots and insane. Many cases are on record, 
some of which we have seen, where the mother, 
who had received some strong impression, 
stamped it upon the child indelibly. A mother 
near Hudson, State of New York, became very 
anxious for a bunch of currants to gratify her 
appetite ; her mind continued resting upon the 
pleasure to be derived from them, and her child 
has a bunch of currants impressed, as plainly 
and as legibly as could be drawn, on his 
shoulders. In the eastern part of the State of 
Massachusetts is a lad whose action and man- 
ners closely resemble those of a monkey. He 
is idiotic, and has a very small and contracted 
brow, occasioned by the mother having been 
startled by one of these animals. In Worcester, 
Massachusetts, is a lad of some twenty years 
of age who appears to be mimicking a turtle 
in every motion ; he is also idiotic. The mind 



LAWS OF GENERATION. 12 J 

of the mother was disturbed from its tranquillity 
by the appearance of a turtle, hence the result 

MONSTERS. 

Goldsmith, in his "Animated Nature," gives 
the following : "A woman in Paris, the wife of a 
tradesman, went to see a criminal broken alive 
upon the wheel at the place of public execution. 
She was at the time two months advanced in 
pregnancy, and not subject to any disorders that 
would affect the child in the womb. She was, 
however, of a tender habit of body ; and though 
led by curiosity to this horrid spectacle, was very 
easily moved to pity and compassion. She felt, 
therefore, all those strong emotions which so 
terrible a sight must inspire ; shuddered at every 
blow the criminal received, and almost swooned 
at his cries. Upon returning from this scene of 
blood, she continued for some days in a passive 
state, and her imagination still wrought upon the 
spectacle she had lately seen. After some time 
she seemed perfectly recovered from the fright, 
and had almost forgotten her former uneasiness. 
When the time of delivery approached, she 
seemed no ways mindful of her former terrors 
nor were her pains in labor more than usual in 
such cases. But what was the amazement of her 
friends and assistants when the child came into 
the world! It was found that every limb in its 



128 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



body was broken, like those of the malefactor, 
and just in the same place. This monstrosity 
lived for twenty years in the hospitals of Paris." 

DWARFS. 

Homer speaks of the pigmies contending with 
the cranes. It was formerly supposed that in 
central Africa there were nations of dwarfs ; but 
modern investigation says it is a myth. The 
nations of giants that inhabited various parts of 
the earth, especially Patagonia, the modern trav- 
eler pronounces fabulous. 

That there are isolated cases, here and there, 
of the dwarf and the o-iant order, no one can 
deny. We see them every day. But whole 
nations of either exist in fiction, but not in fact. 

OFFSPRING RESEMBLING LOWER ANIMALS. 

It is admitted by all scientists that opposite 
species cannot cohabit and propagate ; yet 
apparently we have some exceptions. For illus- 
tration, the jack and the mare, the horse and 
the quagga, the sheep and the deer, the dog and 
the wolf can propagate ; yet when we trace 
them back to their origin, instead of being 
different species they are merely varieties of the 
same. Therefore, those human monsters and 
dwarfs resembling the lower animals, if not pro- 
duced by the persistent mental impressions of 



LAWS OF GENERATION. I 29 

the mother, may be the result of arrested foetal 
development. 

OPINION OF DARWIN AND HUXLEY AND AGASSIZ. 

It is claimed by Drs. Darwin and Huxley, 
and also by Prof. Agassiz, that the human em- 
bryo undergoes the development of the lower 
animals ; that the foetal brain, heart, etc., are at 
one stage like those organs in the fish, then rep- 
tilian, then mammalian. Prof. Huxley says : " It 
is quite in the latter stages of development that 
the young human being presents marked differ- 
ences from the young ape ; while the latter 
departs as much from the dog, in its develop- 
ments, as the man does. Startling as this last 
assertion may appear to be, it is demonstrably 
true." 

If these renowned investigators are right, 
why may we not account for some of these 
freaks in which the human is so closely animal 
in form, by ascribing them to arrested fcetal evo- 
lution ? 

I might give many more cases of deformities. 

FROG-BABY. 

The frog-baby which I have exhibited at my 

lectures, was the result of mental influences of 

the . mother, as follows : The mother was quite 

good-looking and intelligent. During her preg- 

9 



130 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



nancy she had her hair cut quite short, so much 
so that it mortified her greatly ; she would not go 
a shopping, or to church, or anywhere that she 
might be seen. She sent to the store and pur- 
chased a net, and for several months during the 
first part of gestation she would stand for 
several hours each day before a mirror inclined 
to the wall, striving to make her hair stay in the 
net. The child, when born, looked more like a 
frog than anything else. Its eyes were on the 
top of its head, it had no neck, and there was 
excessive growth of hair on the head. 

Whether this peculiar position of the mother 
before the mirror, and the solicitude manifested 
by her in regard to her hair, were the cause of 
this peculiar deformity, it is difficult to say; if it 
was not, it is certainly a very strange coincidence. 




CHAPTER XL 



HEREDITARY INFLUENCES. 

THERE is no fact better established than 
this, viz., that the physical and psychical pecu- 
liarities of both parents at the moment of sexual 
intercourse are indelibly stamped on the embryo 
resulting from such coition. Science has now dis- 
sipated the clouds of mystery that formerly en- 
shrouded this subject. The effects that were 
formerly considered as freaks, have been traced 
to their exciting cause. Mental and moral im- 
pressions, mothers' marks, monstrosities and de- 
formities, peculiarities of form, feature, color and 
disease, are all produced by law. 

Physiology and pathology have thoroughly 
unraveled the mysteries of these protean forms, 
and have explained them as so many departures 
from perfect development. 

HEREDITY OF LOWER ANIMALS. 

In improving the quality of the lower animals, 
the most careful attention is paid to pedigree. 
Pure blood is the creat desideratum. Thorough- 



I3 2 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

breds bring fabulous prices. The herd book is 
carefully studied. Each fact and principle per- 
taining to improvement of quality has been 
watchfully scrutinized. 

Very little regard has, however, been devoted 
to the facts and principles of human procreation ; 
and when parents will devote as much attention 
to procreating the human species, as farmers do 
in raising Durhams and Jerseys, Normans and 
Morgans, Berkshires and Poland Chinas, South- 
downs and Cots wolds, we shall have a healthier 
and a happier race. 

OFFICE OF AMATIVENESS. 

Amahveness is the invisible magnet that at- 
tracts the sexes to each other. It is a God im- 
planted instinct. Its mission is a holy one. Those 
civilities that the sexes extend to each other have 
their origin in this instinct. It makes women more 
queenly. Like all the other propensities, it is a 
blind passion. It impels, but does not direct. It 
needs an engineer. This instinct, undirected by 
the higher faculties, is peopling the earth with 
beings most assuredly not in the image of the 
Creator, as they were at first. 

HORACE MANN'S OPINION 

Horace Mann, in one of his lectures, says : 
" Examine the book of Genesis, which contains the 



HEREDITART INFLUENCES. 133 

earliest annals of the human family. As is com- 
monly supposed, it comprises the first twenty- 
three hundred and sixty-nine years of human 
history. With child-like simplicity this book de- 
scribes the infancy of mankind. Unlike modern 
histories, it details the minutest circumstances of 
individual and social life ; indeed, it is rather a 
series of biographies than a history. The false 
modesty of modern times did not forbid the men- 
tion of whatever was done or suffered. And yet, 
over all that expanse of time, for more than one- 
third part of the duration of the human race — 
not a single instance is recorded of a child born 
blind, or deaf or dumb, or idiotic, or malformed in 
any way. During the whole period not a single 
case of a natural death in infancy or childhood, 
or early manhood, or even of middle manhood, 
is to be found. The simple record is, ' and he 
died,' or ' he died in a good old age and full of 
years,' or, ' he was old and full of days.' No epi- 
demic, or even endemic, disease prevailed ; show- 
ing that they died the natural death of healthy 
men, and not the unnatural death of distem- 
pered ones." 

CAUSE OF DIVORCES. 

Without the least doubt, misguided amative- 
ness is the . prime cause of the many divorces, 
unhappy homes, broken-hearted wives, reckless 




134 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

husbands, and ill-organized offsprings. Who 
should marry, and who should not, will be con- 
sidered in a future chapter, 
and I shall show regard 
should be had not only to 
the physical and psychical 
happiness of the parents, so 
that marriage may be a holy 
bond of union, and the word 
ill organized. divorce may become an ob- 

solete term, but, at the same time, the hereditary 
traits of the offspring, whether they be physical, 
mental, moral or social, will be considered. 

CHILD'S BIRTHUTGHT. 

Every child begotten is entitled to a healthy 
organism, and the time will come when parents 
will be ashamed to have sickly children. They 
will be shut out from the society of the good, if 
they beget more than they can properly feed, 
clothe and educate. 

Let us learn to generate properly, and then 
there will be less trouble in 7-cgenerating. Some 
talk about making the earth a paradise. They 
cherish the idea of christianizing the world. It 
never can take place until there is a more en- 
lightened parentage. The laws of procreation 
must be better understood and obeyed, to secure 
the quickest and the greatest good to mankind. 



HEREDITAR2' INFLUENCES. I 35 

The old maxim, Poeta nascitur, non fit — poets 
are born, not made — is a true one. Equally 
true is this one, Christians are born, as well as 
made. Too little regard to the laws of repro- 
duction is making more drunkards, libertines, 
murderers, and every other form of criminal' doer, 
than all the preachers in the land can convert. 

TWO KINDS OF SINNERS. 

If we violate a moral law, we are moral sin- 
ners ; if we violate a physical law, we are phys- 
ical sinners. If you use your Maker's name in 
vain, if you transgress the commands of the deca- 
logue, if you violate the moral code of the Savior, 
you sin morally; but if you violate any of the 
laws of health, you sin physically. If you can be 
a christian with a diseased body, you can be a 
better christian with a healthy body. 

If our clergymen in the pulpits, instead of de- 
voting so much time in discussing their theolog- 
ical dogmas, and wrangling over some unimpor- 
tant church rite or creed, would devote the same, 
and more time, in teaching their hearers how to 
keep their physical temples pure, their efforts 
would be crowned with greater and quicker suc- 
cess. 

PHYSICAL CONJUGAL MATES. 

Physiology is the true adviser in regard to 
physical adaptability. Marriage should never 



136 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



take place when the physical qualities of both 
are to either extreme. The true rule to be ob- 
served is this: if your organism is well balanced; 
if the mental, the motive and the vital tempera- 
ments are harmoniously blended in your phys- 
ical structure, to form a perfectly developed 




MARRIED, BUT NOT MATED. 



manhood or womanhood, select a partner of like 
structure ; but so far as there is a preponderance, 
or deficiency of either one of the aforesaid 
temperaments, so that true physical unity is dis- 
turbed, seek a mate that will restore an equi- 
librium. 

As perhaps some of the readers do not under- 



HEREDITARY INFLUENCES. 



137 



stand what I mean by the aforesaid tempera- 
ments, I will explain them, somewhat cursorily, 




WELL BALANCED TEMPERAMENT. 



NERVOUS TEMPERAMENT. 

The nervous temperament is known by the 
small and delicate frame, pyriform face, large 
brain compared with the body, small, spindling 
muscles, fine silky hair, and generally auburn or 
light colored, more activity than strength, light- 
ning talkers, hard brain workers, but a little lazy 
when it requires muscular exertion. 

When the nervous temperament predominates, 
the body suffers from the great drain made by 



138 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

mental exertion. Persons of this temperament 
lead a brilliant but a short career. Too much 
blaze for the oil. 

If two should wed with this temperament to 
the extreme, they would live too fast ; the cares 
of the kitchen would irritate her, and the chores 
pertaining to house-keeping would zvorry him. 
They would be over-sensitive and annoyed at 
trifles. If they should be so fortunate as to 
have children, which rarely would be the case, 
the children would be puny, nervous, but smart, 
and their race for life would be short — too 
finely organized for the vicissitudes of earth. 

MOTIVE TEMPERAMENT. 

The motive temperament is known by the pre- 
dominance of the osseous and muscular system, 
stout frame-work, generally black hair, and 
coarse at that, high cheek bones, oblong face, 
dark, swarthy complexion, harsh features. 

Persons of this temperament have great 
powers of endurance ; they are good workers, 
care more for physical toil than study, rather 
coarse and blunt in their language, care little 
for books, slow to anger and slow over it. 

Two persons with this temperament to the 
extreme, if married, would generally be too late 
for the train — behind the age — and their chil- 
dren, if there were any as the fruit of the 



HEREDITARY INFLUENCES. 139 

wedlock, would be far from being brilliant — 
generally at the foot of the class in school — yet 
physically they are tough and hardy. 

VITAL TEMPERAMENT. 

The vital temperament is a combination of 
what can be termed the sanguine and the lym- 
phatic. Persons of this tem- 
perament are on the rotund 
stamp. They generally have 
broad shoulders, deep chest, 
fine muscular development, 
ruddy complexion, blue eyes ; 
they are epicurean in their 
nature; believe in "live to-day 
and let to-morrow take care 
of itself" ; they have strong 
passions — spasmodic in their nature — quick 
maddened and quick pleased ; work hard when 
they do work, but take frequent and long rests ; 
learn easily but will not bear much in-door con- 
finement, hence do not make as good scholars 
as those of the nervous type. Two persons 
married with this type of organism to the 
extreme, will live too much on the high pressure 
order. They attend all the parties, especially 
the festivals, and will have plenty to eat, if 
nothing else, and their children will be dupli- 
cates of the parents. 




14° PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

MENTAL CONJUGAL MATES. 

Phrenology is the true guide to conjugal 
happiness. The rule to be observed is this : if 
you have any organ of the brain large, its edict 
is law ; select a partner with this same organ, 
not large, not small, but just fully developed. 
If this rule were observed there would be less 
mental alienation between husband and wife ; 
instead of family quarrels, dinner-table spats 
and Caudle lectures, harmony and bliss will pre- 
vail throughout the household. "Caudle, you are 
a brute" and "Mrs. Caudle, you are a hypocrite 
and a virago" will no longer be heard over the 
threshold. When the rule is observed that nei- 
ther physical nor mental extremes or similars 
should wed, husbandhood and wifehood will be 
enviable positions, and the ranks of the old 
bachelors and old maids will be thinned. 

MARRIED, BUT NOT MATED. 

Suppose the wife has large order — precision 
and method is her watchword ; the broom is 
always in its proper corner ; the towel is always 
on the same nail ; she has a place for everything 
and everything in its place, a time for every- 
thing and everything in time ; the husband, on 
the contrary, is of the opposite extreme ; is 
shiftless and slovenly in his habits ; has a slip- 
shod way of doing everything. "Wife, where is 



HEREDITARY INFLUENCES. I4I 

my hat?" — where is this, and where is that, are 
every-day questions. They are poorly matched, 
as far as order is concerned : she is annoyed by 
his carelessness, he is equally irritated by her 
precision. There is too much antagonism. 

Take another case : Suppose the wife has 
large ideality, she has an innate perception of 
the beautiful ; everything she does must be 
finished; she observes the most precise personal 
aeatness ; she is refined in her actions and 
choice in her language ; she is a great lover of 
the fine arts ; her motto is perfection. The 
husband, on the contrary, is of the opposite 
extreme. He has no eye for the beautiful ; 
cares but little for ornament; not refined in 
manners or speech ; his language is full of slang 
phrases and uncouth remarks. There is but 
little harmony. Suppose they are invited out 
to a party : she arranges her toilet with the 
greatest care ; he, on the contrary, wears the 
same old coat he wears every day ; he has a 
good one in the closet but will not wear it ; he 
says he feels too awkward, too stuck up. She 
worries, but it does no good. At the party she 
is mortified at his bungling mishaps, and every 
once in a while she gives him a secret nudge in 
the ribs, but it only makes matters worse. 
Another case : Suppose the wife has large be- 
nevolence, imitation, veneration and spirituality, 



142 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

naturally kind, sympathetic, reverential, and 
even inspirational; she has too little firmness 
and self-esteem ; lacks in mental independence 
and moral courage ; she is in fact one of those 
true queens among women, and makes friends 
wherever she may go. Suppose the husband 
is of the opposite extreme ; his firmness and 
self-esteem tower up like Pilot-Knob; he is 
willful, conceited, tyrannical, venerates nothing 
higher than self; charity, hope, faith and rever- 
ence are not in his vocabulary. This is no 
pen picture, no fancied photograph. There are 
thousands of matches in the land in which as 
great a diversity exists between husband and 
wife. They are married, but not mated. Such 
diversities cannot blend in harmony. 

THE PICTURE REVERSED. 

Sometimes the sleeve is on the other arm. 
The husband may be one of those good-natured 
souls who always say yes, yes; just so, just so ; 
but the wife, on the other hand, is a regular fiend 
incarnate. She carries the pocket-book, and the 
husband is a mere hired man working for his 
board and clothes. He is a basswood man, she 
is a boss woman. 

TROUBLE IN THE CAMP. 

Take another case : Suppose the intellectual 
and the moral faculties of husband and wife are 



HEREDITARY INFLUENCES. 143 

of opposite extremes, but the governing powers 
are large in both, then there will be trouble on 
hand. Earthquakes, thunder-storms, blizzards and 
cyclones would be pigmies compared to the tur- 
moils of that household. When phrenology is 
better understood, and applied in selecting the 
partner for life, then there will be less domestic 
trouble, and married life will be one perpetual 
sunshine, and the sentence, "Home, sweet home, 
there is no place like home" will be verified. 

So far as your brain is well balanced, every 
organ marked full, select a partner like yourself. 
Phrenology says, similars should wed similars, 
if there be a medium development ; but, at the 
same time, extremes should not be united, whether 
similars or opposites. 

Some writer has truly advised, when he said : 
"Young man, in selecting a partner for life, do 
not let the barbed arrows of love which Cupid is 
selecting from his quiver and hurling at your 
heart, so influence your judgment that you will 
not appeal to science for counsel before the 
matrimonial knot is tied." 

INTERMARRIAGE. 

So far as there is no hereditary taint, so far as 
there are no particular hereditary eccentricities, 
so far it is proper for distant relatives to marry. 
The laws of Kentucky prohibit marriage between 



144 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

cousins, yet marriage between cousins has been 
attended many times with the most complete 
conjugal happiness, and the offspring resulting 
from such unions have been perfect specimens of 
health. 

It is claimed that marriage between cousins 
generally results in sterility, and statistics would 
show that the majority of the offspring resulting 
from such marriages are diseased physically, or 
demented. 

The predispositions to disease, both physical 
and mental, that is lurking in many families 
would be intensified by intermarriage ; hence, as 
a rule, they should be avoided. 




CHAPTER XII. 



WOMAN'S SEXUAL RIGHTS. 

HOWSOEVER we may differ in regard to 
woman's political rights, whether en- 
franchising her will lower her moral standing, 
cause her to neglect her social and maternal 
duties, which view is both indorsed and opposed 
by many sound logicians in moral ethics, yet, it 
seems to me, every unbiased mind will grant to 
woman the exclusive right to her own person in 
sexual matters. 

There may be some doubting Thomas in re- 
gard to this subject. Therefore I will give a 
few reasons why she should be endowed with 
this God given, if not man given, privilege. 

MOTHER'S RELATION TO CHILD. 

Woman is more intimately related to the off- 
spring than man. Man is physiologically related 
to the offspring only by the transient moment of 
sexual intercourse. Woman furnishes the ovum, 
man the sperm, and so far they are entitled to 
equal credit. All through gestation the mother 



146 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

and foetus are connected soul and body, but at 
parturition the physiological link is apparently 
severed. Such is not really the fact. At the 
first inhalation, the child apparently becomes an 
independent being; but like some of our South 
American republics, its freedom is limited. The 
mammary secretion of the mother must be, and 
is, the natural nourishment for the infant for at 
least a year longer, until it is sufficiently devel- 
oped to contend with the rough diet of the 
world. Still the spell is not broken. Its inde- 
pendence is not fully established. The mother 
is the chief director of its physical, mental, 
moral and religious life until infancy is past. 

MOTHER A SACRED NAME. 

No wonder the name mother is spoken in 
reverence. It is not strange that we say our 
mother country. Mother is the sweetest term 
in the Anglo-Saxon. The first word we lisp is 
mamma, the last word we breathe is mother 

limitation of offspring. 

The opinion of the world is changing on this 
point. It was formerly supposed that children 
are sent the same as the snow-flakes, and that it 
is a sin to even investigate the facts and laws of 
propagation. It was formerly argued that chil- 
dren have a right to be born. They would quote 



WOMAN'S SEXUAL RIGHTS. 1 47 

the command to our first parents, "Multiply and 
replenish" Many have considered that they 
were doing God's service; that it was their re- 
ligious duty to beget offspring as fast as the 
order of nature would allow, and that it made no 
difference whether or not they could properly 
feed, clothe or educate them. 

The opinion, to-day, of our best moralists is, 
that we should exercise our reason, moral powers 
and will in regard to this subject. 

MOTHERS SHOULD HAVE THE WHOLE SAY. 

I think woman should have the whole say in 
regard to the number of children, and I will give 
my reasons why. Many wives have no right to 
beget children, because if they do it is a suicidal 
act; every child born is another nail in her coffin. 
I will illustrate : Here is a wife with a consump- 
tive tendency ; scrofula lurks in every artery, 
vein and capillary. Every child she begets is a 
puny thing, full of scrofulous poison. During its 
stay on earth, it is in reality a living corpse. Its 
stay is short and full of pain and sorrow ; death 
soon claims it as a victim. If you cannot beget 
healthy children, beget none. The child is thrown 
into this world a passive being ; it has nothing to 
do with its organization, and I claim it has a God- 
given right to a healthy body. 

Take another case : Here is a lady with dis- 



14-8 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

placement of the womb — or perhaps it may be 
organically diseased — possibly it is cancer — 
every child she has brings her nearer the grave. 
Take another case : Here is a case where chil- 
dren are born as fast as nature permits. The 
mother is sliding down the inclined plane to that 
goal that awaits us all. 

COMMAND DIFFERENT NOW. 

When the command was given to Adam the 
circumstances were quite different from what 
they are to-day. Six thousand years ago there 
were but two on the earth, now there are about 
1,394,1 17,000. 

The earth was as large then as at the present, 
and if geology is right, a little larger, as it has 
been cooling and shrinking ever since. Adam 
and Eve were fresh from the hand of the Crea- 
tor. They had nothing to transmit but health ; 
whereas, parents of to-day have little else to 
transmit but disease. Scrofula, rheumatism and 
dyspepsia then were not known. Pandora's box 
of diseases had not then been opened. 

THE DOUBTER ANSWERED. 

" But," says a doubter : " If woman is to be the 
sexual dictator, the earth will soon be depopu- 
lated, and the human race become extinct, for the 
reason that woman possesses so little amative 



WOMAN'S SEXUAL RIGHTS. 149 

passion." I would file this answer — that if woman 
has too little passion, man has too much, and in 
many cases it is unbridled at that, and of two 
evils choose the least. 

Mrs. Duffey was right when she said, in her 
book on the sexes : " If ever the world becomes 
depopulated, or seems in danger of becoming so, 
then, perhaps, we may regard it as a duty to re- 
plenish. But there seems no need just now for 
special exertions in this direction." That woman 
is naturally less amative, and therefore more vir- 
tuous than man, is 2ifact. I can find ten virtuous 
women to one virtuous man in most towns or 
countries. Statistics and phrenology teach the 
same thing. 

WOMAN MORE VIRTUOUS THAN MAN. 

When I hear a man make the remark that 
there are no virtuous women, that they are given 
more than man to licentious thoughts, I place 
him either in the scale of a fool or a libertine. 
No man that is accustomed to the society of the 
refined and intelligent, no man married ox single, 
that is not governed by his animal passion more 
than by his moral sentiments, will venture such a 
remark. A drunken man thinks everyone he 
meets is tipsy, because he is drunk himself; a 
lustful man can see no virtue in woman, for the 
same reason. 



15° PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

When I hear some old debauchee haranguing 
before a mixed crowd of old and young, in 
some public place, about the lewdness of women, 
I say to myself, " You poor old rake, your words 
and acts show the company you keep." There 
should be a statute enacted to silence the tongue 
of such reprobates as can be found in most towns. 

MOTHERS DESIRE CHILDREN. 

The objection to woman being entrusted with 
the whole say in regard to how many offspring 
and how often, is ill-founded. Whoever has 
studied woman's social nature will find im- 
planted there much larger philoprogenitiveness 
— love of offspring — than in man. Most mar- 
ried ladies desire children, upon whom they 
can lavish the outpourings of this God-given 
instinct. Notwithstanding woman's amativeness 
is smaller than it is in man, yet her love of chil- 
dren is enough larger to make up the deficiency. 
These would-be moralists need have no hesi- 
tancy in entrusting women with exclusive dicta- 
tion in sexual matters. Fowler says: " If there 
existed no particular attachment to children, as 
such, the burden of raising and educating them 
would be intolerable, seldom submitted to ; 
whereas the effect of this faculty is to make 
them to their parents the dearest of all objects, 
their richest treasure and their greatest delight." 



WOMAN'S SEXUAL RIGHTS. 151 

Combe gives the following case of large 
philoprogenitiveness : "A lady, in whom this 
organ was large, told me that she frequently 
dreams of children. She described one dream 
which imparted to her the most exquisite 
delight, in which she seemed to have her lap 
full of babies, which were smiling, sprawling, 
raising their hands, and tossing about in the 
most interesting manner imaginable." 

MRS. ISABELLA BEECHER HOOKER'S VIEWS. 

Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hooker, in a pam- 
phlet entitled " Womanhood, its Sanctities 
and Fidelities," remarks as follows : " I think 
it is a perfectly fair statement of the case as 
between men and women the world over, that it 
is not in any great degree desire for offspring 
on his part that draws the husband to the wife in 
the closer relations of married life ; while on the 
part of the wife the love of offspring mingles 
largely as an impelling motive with the love of her 
husband." Again she says : " And now permit 
me to say that a great part of the physical and 
moral deterioration of the present day arises, it 
seems to me, from the fact that children are not 
conceived in the desire for them, and out of the 
pure lives of their fathers as well as their 
mothers ; and that far worse misfortunes might 
befall our race than decreasing families, as lonor 



I5 2 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

as children are born to such an inheritance as 
too many young men of the present day are 
liable to transmit." 

HOW TO END THE CAREER OF THE ABORTIONIST. 

Although all our standard medical writers 
teach that there are cases where not only pre- 
vention, but also abortion is justifiable, yet its 
indiscriminate practice is both culpable and 
criminal. We are opposed to abortion because 
it is nothing less than murder, if willfully 
brought about ; and the true way to end the 
career of the abortionist is to impart to the 
mothers of the land accurate knowledge in 
sexual physiology, hygiene and pathology. 

MISCARRIAGE AND ITS DANGERS. 

When the foetus is expelled from the uterus 
within four months after conception it is termed 
abortion, but if the expulsion does not take 
place until between the fourth and seventh 
months of pregnancy it is termed miscarriage. 
If the expulsion takes place at any time between 
the seventh month and the end of gestation it 
is termed premature labor. All of these 
attempts on the part of the uterus to expel the 
foetus before its complete development may be 
the results of the same predisposing and excit- 
ing causes. 



WOMAN'S SEXUAL RIGHTS. 153 

Predisposing Causes.— Any disease or dis- 
placements of the uterus and its appendages ; 
plethora or debility ; death of the foetus ; dis- 
ease of the afterbirth. Some ladies acquire the 
habit of aborting, so that it is impossible for 
them to go beyond a certain period. 

Exciting Causes.— Coition during gestation ; 
Drastic purgatives, especially those containing 
aloes. Suckling the child after again becoming 
pregnant. Violent exercise; dancing; piles; 
mental excitement. 

Prevention. — Observe perfect rest, especially 
at the times when menstruation would occur if 
not pregnant. Coition should be abstained from, 
at least during the first five months of gesta- 
tion. 

In a case of threatened abortion, Dr. Robert 
Lee says : " The greatest mental tranquillity and 
absolute rest in the horizontal posture on a 
mattress or couch, with the body slightly covered, 
should be enjoined. If the patient is plethoric 
and the pulse accelerated, blood is immediately 
to be detracted in quantity, proportioned to the 
urgency of the symptoms." If there are any 
signs of a miscarriage, a rectal injection of a 
gill of starch water, in which has been put one- 
half teaspoonful of laudanum, will often quiet 
the uterine contractions. 



154 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

DANGERS OF MISCARRIAGE. 

The immediate cause of danger in miscarriage 
is profuse hemorrhage, -which requires the prompt 
attention of the physician. 

Mrs. Duffy, in her " Relations of the Sexes," 
says: '"If by intent or accident it [the fcetus] 
is disturbed before the period, the whole of 
Nature's plans are thwarted, and nothing is in 
readiness. A hundred bleeding wounds remain 
when the child, with its accompanying mem- 
branes, is torn untimely from the womb of the 
mother mouths, that would have closed at the 
appointed time, but now remain open to bleed 
away the mother's life." 

The hemorrhage may be controlled, and the 
mother is apparently safe, but that she is so is by 
no means the case; death is stayed for a time, yet 
the effects, which may lie latent for years, soon 
will, perhaps, outcrop in the most intractable 
uterine disease — even cancer itself. Mothers 
should not look upon miscarriage as a trivial 
affair, and should observe every hygienic pre- 
caution to avert it. " Miscarriages," says Dr. 
Storer, " are a thousandfold more dangerous in 
their immediate effects than the average of 
natural labors." 



CHAPTER XIII. 



MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 
CONCERNING FCETUS. 

Ques. Can the child breathe or cry in utero ? 

Aits. No ; but there have been cases where 
the membranes have been ruptured, and the 
waters have escaped so that air has entered the 
womb in sufficient quantities that the foetus 
could, to a limited extent, breathe. Before the 
membranes are ruptured it is impossible. 

Ques. In case of twins, where one is a male 
and the other a female, is the female always 



Ans. It is generally considered to be a fact, 
yet there still exist some doubts concerning 

Ques. Can the sex be known before birth ? 

Ans. M. Matter claims he can predict the sex 
by listening to the pulsations of the foetal heart. 
If there are ijo to 135 per minute, it is a boy; 
but if from 140 to 150 it is a girl. 

Ques. What is the natural position of the 
foetus in the womb during gestation ? 

Ans. The head is toward the os uteri, for this 



15° PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

reason : the head of the foetus is larger and 
heavier, in proportion to its body, than it is after 
birth, and as the foetus is floating in amniotic 
liquid, gravity would naturally incline the head 
downward. Many have the idea that the feet 
tend downward until just before parturition sets 
in, and then the foetus turns one half of a somer- 
sault, making it a head presentation. 

Ques. Can ncevi matemi — mother marks or 
fancy spots — be removed from the child? 

Ans. I have been told by several lady mid- 
wives that the application of the placenta to the 
marks will cause them to disappear. I consider 
it a whim. The best way to remove is to avoid 
the causes that produce them. 

Ques. At what period of gestation is there the 
greatest danger of marking the foetus ? 

Ans. There is danger all through gestation, as 
there is the same relation between the mother 
and foetus from conception until birth. 

CONCERNING THE INFANT. 

Ques. When should the child be first allowed 
to nurse, and when weaned ? 

Ans. Let the child nurse as soon as it is washed 
and dressed, and although milk proper is not se- 
creted at first, yet the early application of the 
child to the breast hastens its secretion, and the 
child, by the early application, extracts the colos- 



QUESTIONS ANSWERED. I 57 

trum, which is a natural purgative. The time of 
weaning, the mother must determine for herself; 
it will vary with the development of the child 
and the health of the mother. Prolonged nurs- 
ing is good in one sense, for this reason, viz : the 
stuffing and cramming process to which too 
many children are subjected does not begin so 
quickly. 

Ques. Is the practice of dosing the infant with 
Godfrey s Cordial, paregoric, and some of the so- 
called soothing and teething syrups deleterious to 
the child ? 

Ans. It is, because most of the so-called baby 
syrups contain either opium or some equally 
deleterious narcotic. This continual dosing the 
child with medicines, and cramming down its 
throat, every time it cries, more cracker stuff, is 
despicable ; and the more they are dosed and 
stuffed, the harder they will kick and the louder 
they will bawl. Pure milk, as prepared in Na- 
ture's laboratory, the mammary gland, is better 
than all the baby mixtures prepared by grand- 
mas and doctors. 

Ques. What causes those two soft spots or 
openings in the child's skull? 

Ans. Those soft spots are called, many times, 
openings in the head, by the uneducated. The 
scientific name applied to them is fontanelles. 
The one in front is called the anterior, and is 



I5§ PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

formed by the straight (sagittal) suture meeting 
the coronal. The posterior is formed by this 
same straight suture meeting the lambdoidal. 
The point of union is membranous at birth, but 
in a short time bony matter is deposited and the 
opening is obliterated. The position of these 
openings assist the midwife in determining the 
position of the head in the pelvis. 

CONCERNING THE MOTHER. 

Ques. Should the mother be especially atten- 
tive to physical and mental hygiene during 
nursing ? 

Ans. She should, because the quantity and 
quality of the mammary secretion fluctuates 
with the varying conditions of her body and 
mind. A Jit of anger on the mother's part, 
during nursing, has resulted in death to the 
child. Sir A. Cooper says : " The secretion of 
milk proceeds best in a tranquil state of mind 
and with a cheerful temper ; then the milk is 
regularly abundant and agrees with the child. 
On the contrary, a fret foil temper lessens the 
quantity of milk, makes it thin and serous, and 
causes it to disturb the child's bowels, produc- 
ing intestinal fever and much griping." Anxiety, 
fear, terror, influence the quality of the milk 
for the worse. Hope and joy, for the better. 
Carpenter says: "There is even evidence that 



QUESTIONS ANSWERED. I 59 

the mammary secretion may acquire an actually 
poisonotis character, under the influence of violent 
mental excitement." He gives the following 
case : "A carpenter fell into a quarrel with a 
soldier billeted in his house, and was set upon 
by the latter with a drawn sword. The wife of 
the carpenter at first trembled from fear and 
terror, and then suddenly threw herself furiously 
between the combatants, wrested the sword 
from the soldier's hands, broke it in pieces and 
threw it away. During the tumult some neigh- 
bors came in and separated the men. While in 
this state of strong excitement the mother took 
up her child from the cradle, where it lay play- 
ing and in the most perfect health, never having 
had a moment's illness ; she gave it the breast, 
and in doing so sealed its fate. In a few minutes 
the child left off sucking, became restless, panted, 
and sank dead upon its mother's bosom. The 
physician was instantly called in ; found the 
child lying in the cradle as if asleep, and with 
its features undisturbed, but all his resources 
were fruitless; it was irrecoverably gone'.' 

Mothers should be as attentive to hygiene 
during nursing as during pregnancy; hence, they 
should be cheerful. Laugh more and give less 
soothing syrup. 

Physical hygiene should be attended to all 
through the nursing period. The quality of 



i6o 



PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 



the food the mother eats will affect the quality 
of the milk. The dietary should be strictly on 
the health plan. 

Ques. What is meant by the hour-glass con- 
traction, and how overcome ? 

Ans. Many times the womb in expelling the 
foetus does not contract uniformly, but is con- 
stricted near its middle, dividing the womb par- 
tially into two compartments, one above and one 
below, connected by a constricted canal, which 
would cause the womb to assume the shape of 
an hour-glass. The placenta may be either in 
the upper or lower cavity. The hour-glass con- 
traction is quite rare, and to overcome it anti- 
spasmodics may be given, or the physician can 
insert his hand into the uterine cavity and by 
physical force overcome the spasm. 

Ques. Is absence of pleasure on the part of the 
wife a cause of barrenness ? 

Aiis. No ; those women that do not experi- 
ence the least pleasure, and to whom sexual 
intercourse is repugnant or painful, are as pro- 
lific as those that do. Any lawyer will tell you 
the old laws of England were that if a woman 
made complaint of rape, and at the same time 
was pregna?it, it was proof positive it was not 
rape. This unjust law was the result of the 
false physiology then extant, which taught that 
pleasure must be experienced if conception is 



QUESTIONS ANSWERED. IOI 

effected. The mere fact of pregnancy proved 
the rape a nullity. 

Physiology of to-day teaches — and the laws 
conform to its teaching — that a woman may be 
placed under the influence of any narcotic or 
anaesthetic, she may be senseless, and if coition 
is effected pregnancy may be the result ; but I 
claim a woman cannot transmit to the foetus 
her own qualities as completely as she would if 
there were pleasure. 

Ques. Should there be coition during gesta- 
tion ? 

Ans. There is a wide difference of opinion in 
regard to this subject. Those who claim that 
the true office of coition is to propagate the 
species emphatically say no ; and if we take the 
lower animals as a guide, we must come to that 
conclusion. The male, among the lower animals, 
never attempts sexual intercourse except when 
the female is in the heat. Repeated coition during 
gestation is, without doubt, a prominent cause of 
the many miscarriages married women are sub- 
ject to. 

Ques. What is the Oesarian section ? 

Ans. It is performed when the foetus cannot 
be born through the natural passages, and where 
there is danger that the life of both mother and 
child will be sacrificed. Churchill says the oper- 
ation is performed as follows : Cutting through 



1 62 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

the abdominal and uterine parietes, so as to 
come to the child, and then removing the entire 
contents of the uterus, and closing the external 
incision by sutures and sticking plaster. 

The great danger will be hemorrhage and 
inflammation. The mortality to the mothers, in 
the operation, extended statistics would show, is 
i in 2 I /(, to the children, i to 3^. 

It is claimed that some of the most noted 
personages have been born in this way. The 
Oesars, Scipio Africanus and /Esculapius, of 
ancient times, and Edward VI, King of Eng- 
land, and Robert II, King of Scotland, of 
more modern times, it is claimed, were born by 
means of the Caesarian section ; and for this 
reason, to be born in this way is considered a 
royal birth. 

There are well authenticated cases where the 
child has been removed alive by a post mortem 
Caesarian section forty-eight hours after the 
death of the mother. 

Bedford oaves the following case: "The death 
of Princess of Schwartzenberg, which occurred 
in Paris in 18 10, was as follows : She was one of 
the gay party participating in the pleasures of a 
ball given by her brother-in-law, the Austrian 
ambassador. During that night of festivity 
there was an appalling conflagration, which, to- 
gether with other victims, caused the death of 



QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 1 63 

the princess, who was far advanced in gestation. 
On the day succeeding her death a living child 
was removed by the Caesarian section." 

As a rule, the foetus dies as soon or sooner 
than the mother ; but this rule, also, has its 
exceptions. 

There was a statute in the old Roman code, 
that no deceased pregnant woman should be 
buried until the child had been removed by this 
operation. The senate of Venice, in 1808, made 
it a heinous crime for the medical man not to 
observe as great precautions in performing this 
operation after death as he should if she were 
alive. It is recorded in history that the king of 
Sicily, in 1 749, sentenced to death the physician 
who failed to perform this operation on a female 
dying in the latter months of gestation. 

This operation is not held in high repute by 
the majority of obstetricians of to-day. 

Ques. Should coition be indulged in just 
before the menses ? 

Ans. No ; because the spermatozoa might 
travel through the uterine cavity, and fertilize 
the egg in the ovary, or while it is traveling 
clown the fallopian tube, and if from any cause 
(and such causes do sometimes exist) the egg 
should fail to arrive in the uterus after being- 
fertilized, there would result extra uterine preg- 
nancy, which we have before spoken of. If 



164 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH. 

intercourse is not indulged in until after the 
menses, the egg will have arrived in the uterus 
before the sperm could come in contact with it. 
Bedford, Thomas, and many other obstetricians, 
claim that the natural place for impregnation is 
the ovary. The experiment of Bischoff would at 
first seem to be satisfactory that such is the fact. 
But Carpenter justly remarks : " From the ex- 
periments of Bischoff, however, it appears that 
in rabbits, bitches, and probably in most other 
mammalia, sexual union usually takes place pre- 
viously to the escape of the ova from the ovary, 
and that sufficient time often elapses for the 
seminal fluid to reach the ovary before their 
extrusion takes place. In such cases, therefore, 
it would seem probable that fecundation is 
effected at the ovary itself." If the ovary is the 
natural place for the sperm and germ to meet, 
there would be greater liability to conception if 
coition should occur just before than just after 
the menses, which is not the fact. 

Ques. What is false conception, and how 
produced ? 

Ans. There is no such thing as false concep- 
tion. The term is a misnomer; a blighted ovum 
would be a much better name. The egg, some- 
times, after fertilization, and before scarcely any 
development has occurred, dies ; it may be at 
once expelled ; sometimes, however, it is retained 



QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 1 65 

a long time after its death, and is changed into a 
fleshy substance, termed a fleshy mole. Sometimes 
there springs from the ovum or its appendages a 
fungous growth, varying greatly in quality and 
quantity, termed hydatids. The three varieties 
of abnormal growths, viz : blighted ovum, moles 
and hydatids, are considered good evidence that 
coition has been indulged in. 

Ques. Why do children by the second husband 
sometimes resemble those begotten by the first 
husband. 

Ans. Mental impressions left by the first hus- 
band on the mother, is one way of explaining this 
remarkable phenomenon ; another way of ex- 
plaining it is this : the blood of the mother has re- 
ceived certain elements from the foetus begotten 
by her first husband, and these same elements 
or attributes she has imparted to the foetus be- 
gotten by the second husband. There is quite a 
practical point connected with this subject. 

Qu.es. Why does the mother experience so 
much urinary trouble the first, second and ninth 
months of pregnancy ? 

Ans. During the first two months the womb 
sinks into the pelvis, partially displacing the blad- 
der and compressing the urethra, and just before 
and at quickening it rises gradually into the ab- 
dominal cavity, and of course the pressure is re- 
moved. During the last month of pregnancy 



1 66 PHENOMENA OF HEALTH 

and just before parturition, the womb again de- 
scends to such a degree as to again produce 
urinary troubles. 

Ques. What is the cause of hemorrhage before 
birth of the child ? 

Ans. The placenta is sometimes attached to 
the womb over the os uteri, and when such is the 
case it is termed Placenta Prcevia. When the 
os dilates, in the first stage of labor, the placen- 
tal blood-vessels are necessarily ruptured, and 
there is hemorrhage from the start. Send for a 
physician immediately, as there is danger ahead. 
Placenta Prsevia is quite rare. 

Ques. What is meant by turning the foetus ? 

Ans. To facilitate delivery of the foetus, the 
accoucheur introduces his hand, between the labor 
pains, into the uterine cavity ; he grasps the feet, 
and by bringing them to the dilated os he effects 
the version. No one but the scientific midwife 
should attempt to produce version. 

Ques. Can quickening be feigned? 

Ans. It can, and it may deceive the best 
observers. Prof. Bedford remarks as follows : 
" Women, from avaricious or other motives, will 
feign pregnancy, and among their other devices 
will attempt to impose upon the judgment of the 
practitioner, by simulating the movements of the 
fcetus through the contraction of their abdominal 
muscles. When I held the professorship of ob- 



QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 1 67 

stetrics in Charleston, South Carolina, Dr. Ben- 
nett, of that city, kindly afforded me an oppor- 
tunity of presenting to my class a very interesting 
case in the person of an old colored woman, an- 
swering to the name of Aunt Betty. She was 
well known in Charleston as the old woman who 
had been pregnant for fifteen years, and I was 
informed that she had accumulated some money 
by showing the curious how actively her little 
child jumped in the womb. 

Qti.es. Is pregnancy a safeguard against dis- 
ease ? 

Ans. No ; the pregnant woman is subject to 
the same diseases as when not in that condition. 

Ques. What really cures disease, nature or 
medicine ? 

Ans. Natter e. There is an old Latin maxim 
termed Post hoc ergo propter hoc, which liter- 
ally translated signifies, if a certain effect follows 
a certain cause, the effect is the result of the 
cause. This is true in many instances, but in 
many cases it is delusion. The Indians during 
an eclipse beat their tom-toms and strike their 
cymbals until the eclipse passes away. You tell 
them that the eclipse would disappear as quickly 
if they were to keep quiet, and they would pro- 
nounce you a humbug. So you tell the poor 
invalid, after he has been dosing himself with 
pills and blood purifiers, that he might have 



1 68 



PI I EX OMEN A OF HEALTH. 



regained his health if he had taken nothing, and 
he will scorn the idea. There is another Latin 
maxim, termed Natura sanat medicus curat. 
Nature cures, but medicine merely takes care of 
the disease. To illustrate : Suppose I cut my 
hand and then apply a poultice, an ointment or 
lotion. It is not the medicine applied that 
effects the cure. Nature does the work. Sup- 
pose I have run a sliver into my finger and I do 
not remove it myself, I do not call the surgeon. 
Nature will remove it if you will only give her 
time, and the manner in which she effects its 
removal is as follows : At first it becomes con- 
gested about the sliver, in a short time it 
becomes inflamed, and soon after it begins to 
suppurate, and a short time after the sliver is 
extruded. Nature is a very safe surgeon, but 
sometimes a little slow ; and if mankind would 
study and practice hygiene more and dose them- 
selves less, life would be prolonged and much 
suffering averted. 

Ques. Can any one medicine cure all diseases; 
that is, is there any such thing as a panacea? 

Ans. No. The ancient alchemists sought 
diligently in their secret laboratories to find the 
true elixir of life, and they cherished the idea 
that if they could make a liquid preparation of 
gold, the desideratum would be gained. 

There are thousands of cure-alls advertised 



QUESTfOlVS ANSWERED. I 69 

through the land to-day. They are not liquid 
gold such as the ancients sought, but it takes 
the solid gold to buy them. They are adver- 
tised to-day under the head of purely vegetable, 
with a little Indian thrown in. 




Many of the cure-all nostrums are prepared 
from scientific prescriptions; so that the humbug 
is not in the prescription, but in their application 
to everything. 



PART SECOND. 



PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 




d — Diaphragm. 
g— Bladder. 
/-Colon. 

/—Uterus. 



PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 



CHAPTER I. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 



MY descriptions of disease are mere sketches. 
To specify details would make the work 
too large. All the prominent facts and phenom- 




ena are described in a language easily under- 
stood by the general reader — knowledge that 
has, as a rule, been privy to the physician and 



174 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

mysteriotis to the outside world, has been sim- 
plified. Only those diseases to which woman 
is subject ; those to which she is most liable, and 
therefore the most interested in, will be portrayed 
in this chapter. The treatment given is both 
hygienic and therapeutic. Our motto is, the 
simpler the treatment the better. The medical 
prescriptions are in plain Anglo-Saxon; the 
hieroglyphics of the prescriptionist have been 
omitted. This work is not for the physician, but 
for the masses ; hence, I trust the profession will 
be mild in their criticisms. To simplify the old, 
and not to teach anything new, has been the ob- 
ject in view. 

PREDISPOSING CAUSES OF DISEASES PECULIAR TO 
WOMAN. 

The women of the nineteenth century are be- 
coming a race of invalids. Where you will find 
a perfectly healthy woman, I will find ten that 
are suffering more or less from some of the 
protean forms of uterine or ovarian diseases. 
Healthy women are like the oases in the desert. 
Why is woman such a sufferer? The casual 
observer says it is because she is the weaker ves- 
sel ; she does not possess the same recuperative 
power as man, and hence her susceptibility to 
derangements of health. To the superficial ob- 
server such an answer is satisfactory, but what 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 175 

are the facts as taught by science? If we go 
among the Indians, where both sexes are sub- 
ject to the same surroundings, the squaws are as 
ha7 r dy, can endure as much fatigue, and perform 
as long journeys, as the males, and it is claimed 
by some, their physical endurance is even greater. 
If you go among the peasants, whose occupation 
keeps them mostly in the open air, and calls into 
activity their muscular powers, you will never 
hear the term female weakness. The anatomical, 
physiological and mental powers are different by 
nature ; but I claim the predispositions to dis- 
ease in women arise from the foolish teaching 
and customs peculiar to the refinements of civil- 
ization. 

When considering the individual diseases, I 
have spoken of the special exciting causes, but I 
wish now to consider the general predisposing 
causes. 

ERRONEOUS METHOD OF EDUCATING GIRLS. 

Our girls, in the larger towns especially, are 
reared as so many hot-house plants, from infancy 
to puberty. They are restrained from partici- 
pating in out-door muscular labor or amuse- 
ments, for fear it will make them coarse and 
vulgar — healthy ; they are denied the invigor- 
ating powers of sunlight, because they will get 
tanned and freckled — healthy ; they are taught 



I 76 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

by their foolish mothers that to be healthy and 
possess ruddy cheeks is coarse and vulgar; to be 
pale, nervous and sickly is lady -like and refined. 
The age of puberty arrives, but the grand change 
from girlhood into womanhood is imperfect, and 
all through life she is a fit subject for disease. 

NERVOUS EXCITEMENTS. 

The fashionable habits and education of to- 
day stimulate the brain, weaken the body, and 
so destroy the healthy equilibrium that should 
exist between body and mind, that there is a 
marked tendency to disease. 

IMPROPER DRESS IN CHILDHOOD. 

The foolish custom of improperly clothing 
the lower extremities predisposes to disease. 
Boys wear in cold weather woolen pants and 
hose and heavy boots, thick-soled ; girls too 
many times, on the other hand, wear thin, sleazy 
pantalets, cotton hose, and wafer-soled shoes. 

Imprudence just before and during the men- 
strual effort is a prominent cause which we 
have considered in detail when treating on the 
menstrual disorders. 

Inattention to Hygiene during pregnancy 
and after parturition are considered in their 
proper place. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 177 

TIGHT LACING. 

The chest is shaped like a pyramid, apex at 
the top, but in those ladies who lace tightly the 
ord^r of nature is reversed, and the apex is at 
the bottom. On account of the constriction of 
the chest the lungs are compressed at their base, 
and encroach upon the heart ; so those ladies 
who lace tightly will, on account of the imper- 
fect circulation of the blood, be troubled with 
cold feet and subject to fainting fits. Hogarth 
says " nature is the standard of beauty " ; but 
you would suppose, in our fashionable circles, 
deformity is the standard. Any lady that laces 
interferes, in the Jirst place, with the purifica- 
tion and circulation of the blood. In the second 
place, she will suffer from the various displace- 
ments of the womb and their attending effects. 
In the third place, if she becomes pregnant and 
still indulges in tight lacing, she is interfering 
with the life of another being. If the child in 
utero receives not the proper quantity and 
quality of blood, when born it will be a dwarf, 
either physically or mentally. 

There are many more predisposing causes, 
but they will be considered when treating on 
the individual diseases. 

Thomas has truly remarked, in his admirable 
work on the diseases of women, as follows : 
"The Indian squaw or southern freedwoman 



I 7^ PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

may go half-naked while menstruating, carry 
heavy burdens from morning till night, or rise to 
labor or to travel in a day or two after parturi- 
tion, and yet no evil will result, but to the civil- 
ized woman, any one of these imprudences may 
prove a source of disease. It is the combina- 
tion of evil influences, or the action of a single 
cause on a system so deteriorated by others as 
to be made incapable of resisting it, which pro- 
duces the unhappy climax." 

PRECAUTIONS AGAINST DISEASE. 

Thomas remarks as follows : " No one will 
doubt the conclusion that if in cold weather the 
feet, legs and abdomens of civilized women 
were clad in some woolen material, if they 
understood the necessity of caution during the 
period of menstruation and after labor, if they 
allowed the uterus to hold its proper place in 
the pelvis, uninterfered with by pressure ; if 
they kept the sanguineous and nervous systems 
in their normal state of vigor by exercise, fresh 
air and plenty of good food, and at the same 
time avoided any habits which directly produce 
disease by injuring the genital organs, much, 
very much less of uterine and kindred disorders 
would be seen by the physician. All these 
reforms would probably bring forth results in 
one generation, but it would require many 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 179 

generations of reformers to restore woman to 
her proper physical sphere." 

When strict hygiene is observed, the dangers 
and pains of childbirth will be greatly lessened. 
When our fashion-makers look to health as the 
pole star to guide them, when the livery of 
health is made more popular, and the livery of 
disease more odious, unestimable blessings to 
womankind will be the result. 

PRURITUS OF VULVA. 

This is by no means a rare disease, and 
though it has no fatal tendencies, yet it is one of 
the most vexatious of all female affections. 

Symptoms. — There is a peculiar sensitiveness, 
sometimes accompanied with pain and tender- 
ness of the vulva ; often it is of an itching sen- 
sation, and it is not confined to the vulva, but 
may extend the whole track of the vagina. The 
mucous membrane is generally highly congested, 
sometimes bordering on inflammation. Dr. De- 
wees observed an aphthous state of the mucous 
lining. 

Cause. — Inattention to cleanliness, leucorrhoeal 
secretions, acrid secretions from the sebaceous 
follicles. 

Treatment. — Sitz baths in warm water ; vag- 
inal injections of tepid water. 

Churchill uses the following lotion : Decoction 



i8o 



PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 



of poppy head, one pint ; sugar of lead, one half 
drachm — mix, and apply to parts. 

Dr. Meigs favors the following lotion : Take 
of borax half an ounce ; distilled rosewater, six 
ounces; sulphate of morphia, six grains — mix, 
and apply the lotion frequently in the course of 
the day. 

Pruritus is a symptom, and not really a disease. 
Hence the first thing to be done is to remove 
the cause. The remedies recommended are 
more palliative than curative. Glycerine, one 
ounce ; rosewater, eight ounces, is recommended 
in mild cases. 

LEUCORRHCEA. 

The name given to this disease is from two 
Greek words, signifying a whitish flowing. The 
term whites — fluor albus — refers to the same 
disease. This is the most prevalent affection of 
the reproductive organs. One half 'of the ladies 
of the land are subject to it in some of its vari- 
ous forms. From the time of Hippocrates until 
now it has been the most marked female com- 
plaint. No age, climate or nationality is ex- 
empt. 

Dewees says : " Women of the sanguine tem- 
perament and rigid fibre are less liable to this 
complaint than those who are fair-skinned, light- 
haired, and of a relaxed fibre." 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. l8l 

Women in the country are less liable than 
those in the city. 

Leucorrhcea consists of a whitish, yellowish or 
greenish mucous discharge from the vagina. So 
says Prof. Thomas. 

Leucorrhcea is divided into two varieties, vag- 
inal and uterine. The former is quite amenable 
to treatment, the latter many times baffles com- 
pletely the skill and patience of our best practi- 
tioners. 

VAGINAL WHITES. 

The mucous membrane of the vagina may be 
either congested, inflamed or ulcerated. 

Symptoms. — Sense of heat, fullness and sore- 
ness in the vagina, sexual commerce painful, 
difficult urination, general feverish condition, 
backache, mental depression. There is no dis- 
charge in the first stage of congestion. The 
mucous membrane in a healthy state is of a pale, 
pinkish appearance, and the mucous secretion 
keeps the part in a moist, quiescent state ; but 
when congestion begins, the membrane becomes 
at first dry, but in a short time there is a watery 
secretion, which soon is supplanted by a muco- 
purulent discharge. 

Cause. — Cold, fatigue, excessive coition, men- 
tal depression, prolonged lactation, sedentary 
habits, ill-ventilated rooms, menstrual impru- 
dence. 



I 82 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

Treatment. — In the congestive and inflam- 
matory form, take sitz baths in warm water, yet 
the feelings of the patient must be consulted 
generally, however. The water should be about 
8o° Fahr. to start with, and let the water be one 
degree lower at each successive bath. Vaginal 
injections of warm water morning and evening, 
and general bathing daily should be observed. 
Keep off the feet as much as possible. Let the 
diet be simple. 

Dewees recommends Epsom salts to be taken 
in small quantities at a time, until there is free 
purgation, and then twenty drops of tinct. of 
cantharides to be given twice a day, in a little 
sweetened water. If there is any strangury 
produced, cease giving the medicine. 

Generally no internal remedies are required if 
proper attention is devoted to local applications. 
Thomas recommends the following: " Every fifth 
or sixth hour the patient, placing under the but- 
tocks a bed pan, upon which she lies, and be- 
tween the thighs a vessel of warm water con- 
taining boiled starch, infusion of linseed, bran, or 
poppies, to render it soothing, should, by means 
of a syringe, with a continuous jet or irrigator, 
throw a steady stream against the cervix uteri 
for fifteen or twenty minutes, or even a longer 
time." 

After the acute symptoms have subsided, mild 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 1 83 

astringent injections are beneficial. Sulphate of 
zinc (white vitriol), ten grains ; rain water, one 
pint; tincture of opium, one drachm — mix. Inject 
twice a day. 

In chronic vaginal whites, where there is ten- 
dency to debility, the patient should live more on 
beef, and take mild out-door exercise. 

Dr. Tanner, of London, recommends, in the 
chronic form of this disease, penciling the 
parts with the following solution : Carbolic acid, 
ten grains ; glycerine, one ounce. Where there 
is a tendency to debility and loss of appetite, the 
following internal remedy is recommended by the 
same author : Citrate of iron and quinine, thirty 
grains ; tincture of lemon peel, one and one- 
half drachms ; water sufficient to make eight 
ounces — mix. Take one-sixth part three times 
a day. 

UTERINE WHITES. 

In this affection the membrane lining the womb 
is diseased, and it may undergo the same stages 
that the vaginal lining did in vaginal whites, viz., 
congestion, inflammation and ulceration. 

Symptoms. — Weakness in the back and loins ; 
almost constant headache ; a general languor ; 
neuralgic pains in different parts of the body ; 
bearing down ; frequent urination ; sense of heat 
and fullness about the pelvis. The excretion is 
white and glairy, more like the white of an egg, 



184 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

but the acid secretions of the vagina change it 
so that it resembles closely boiled starch. In 
vagiiial leucorrhcea it is more of a creamy ap- 
pearance. 

Cause. — Repeated suppression of the menses ; 
miscarriage; prolonged lactation ; excessive child- 
bearing ; too frequent coition. 

Treatment. — Sitz baths in warm water; vag- 
inal injection of the same ; observe as much rest 
as possible ; keep off the feet. 

Astringent injections will do no good, as they 
cannot be brought in contact with the diseased 
membrane ; but the prolonged use of warm vag- 
inal injections will accomplish wonders ; they act 
as a poultice. 

If there is constipation, use Epsom salts; in 
small doses they are purgative, diuretic and re- 
frigerant. 

In the acute form of this disease the treatment 
should be antiphlogistic, but in the chronic form, 
where there is a tendency to debility and general 
relaxation, let the treatment.be supportive; and 
the best tonics are good diet, fresh air, mild ex- 
ercise out-doors, chancre of scenery, attention to 
general bathing, vigorous hand rubbing or thor- 
ough use of the flesh brush, and last, but not least, 
the sun-bath. In both the vaginal and uterine 
forms of this disease there are soon manifested 
symptoms of ge7ieral debility, an inward weak- 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 1 85 

ness, an all-gone feeling. There is an excessive 
discharge, but the parts from which it exudes 
are more passive than active. For such cases 
iron, in some of its various forms, is the great 
desideratum, as it enriches the blood by increas- 
ing the number of blood corpuscles. The fol- 
lowing is a pleasant and effective prescription : 
Take citrate of iron, two drachms ; simple syrup, 
one-half ounce ; water, six ounces — mix. A ta- 
blespoonful to be taken three times a day before 
meals. 

SUN-BATHS AS A TONIC. 

Prof. Hammond says : " In anczmia, chlorosis, 
phthisis, and, in general, all diseases characterized 
by deficiency of vital power, light should not be 
debarred. In convalescence from all diseases it 
acts as a healthful stimulant, both to the mental 
and physical systems. The delirium and weak- 
ness which are by no means seldom among con- 
valescents kept in darkness, disappear like magic 
when the rays of the sun are allowed to enter 
the chamber. I think I have noticed that 
wounds heal with greater rapidity when the rays 
of the sun are allowed to reach them, and when 
they are as far as possible exposed to diffused 
daylight. Care should be taken in both health 
and disease to insure a sufficient quantity of 
light to the inmates of houses. Sun-baths, or 
apartments in which the solar rays can fall upon 



1 86 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

the naked body, are doubtless highly advan- 
tageous to health." 

MENSTRUAL DISORDERS. 

The menstrual discharge is pure blood, which 
has escaped from the ruptured blood-vessels of 
the lining membrane of the womb. When men- 
struation is perfectly normal, there is a sense of 
fullness in the uterine system, slight pains in 
lumbar region, general fatigue, restlessness, de- 
spondency; but when it is abnormal, the pain 
may equal that attendant on labor, and the pro- 
tean forms of neuralgia manifested are beyond 
pen descriptions. 

AMENORRHEA. 

This is the first disorder to which I invite 
your attention, and it is divided into two classes : 
first, where the menses never have appeared ; 
second, where they have been suppressed. 

We have stated that menstruation generally 
begins at about the fifteenth year, and many 
mothers evince much anxiety if their daughters 
manifest no show at that time, and they give 
powerful emmenagogues many times, hoping 
thereby to hasten this tardy appearance. 

If mothers knew more in regard to this sub- 
ject, they would show much better common 
sense. Mothers, if your daughter's health is not 



DISEASES OF WOMEN, 1 87 

declining, you need not worry, even if they do 
not appear until she is out of her teens. 

TARDY MENSTRUATION. 

Menstruation may be tardy because the ova- 
ries are tardy in their development. The ova- 
ries may be all right, but the uterus is wanting, 
or so atrophied that there is no discharge. In 
both of these cases nothing is to be done, only 
to wait. 

Sometimes there is an obstacle to the escape 
of the menses, and when such is the case, the 
treatment should be to remove the barrier. 

The prominent obstacles are : impervious 
canal in the cervix, occluded os uteri, absent va- 
gina, or an imperforate hymen. If there is no 
decline of health, it shows the menstrual dis- 
charge has not been effected ; but if the menses 
are prevented from escaping, there will be 
marked local and constitutional symptoms. The 
retained menses will distend the uterus, pro- 
ducing pain, tenderness, and general feverishness 
of the whole system ; and when such is the case, 
do not give emmenagogues, as they will only 
make matters worse. Call in a scientific phy- 
sician, and have him make a vaginal examination, 
and determine what is the cause of the retention. 
Show commo7i sense in this matter, the same as 
you do in the cuisine department. 



1 88 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

Sometimes there will be every month all the 
symptoms peculiar to menstruation, viz., pain in 
the back, weight in the uterine region, general 
lassitude, etc., and yet a vaginal examination 
reveals no barrier. 

Churchill terms such cases simple amenor- 
rhea. He says : " The subjects of simple 
amenorrhcea may be either of a plethoric habit 
of body and robust health, or weak, pale, and 
delicate in constitution, and the symptoms vary 
in each." 

Treatment. — Where there is plethora, there 
should be depletion. Abstain from ?7ieat diet; 
try the hunger cure; avoid stimulants. Epsom 
salts should be taken until there is free purga- 
tion. 

But the main thing to be observed is adminis- 
tration of hip baths in warm water, as warm as 
it can be borne, warm pediluviae, vaginal injec- 
tions of warm water. 

Treatment, where there is debility, should be 
sicpportive, viz., nutritious diet, mild out-door 
exercise, iron tonics, electricity. Anything that 
will enrich the blood, stimulate the nervous 
system and improve the general health will be 
beneficial. If the ovaries and uterus are normal, 
if there are no obstructions in the genital pas- 
sages, all that is required is to secure general 
health, and then this important symptom, men- 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. IoQ 

struation, will ever be present ; the time, quanti- 
ty and quality will be normal. 

When debility is the cause, Dr. Tanner rec- 
ommends iodide of potassium, 18 to 30 grains; 
citrate of iron and ammonia, 40 grains ; tincture 
of nux vomica, one drachm ; infusion of quassia 
sufficient to make eight ounces — mix. One- 
sixth part to be taken three times a day. 

SUPPRESSED MENSTRUATION. 

Many times the menses are suddenly checked, 
producing an aggravated chain of symptoms, 
viz., intense throbbing headache, severe lumbar 
pain, quick pulse, loss of appetite, difficulty of 
breathing, sometimes a sense of suffocation. 

Cause. — Cold, either during the interval just 
as the discharge appears, or after its appear- 
ance ; mental depression and intense emotional 
excitement may be the cause. 

Treatment. — Let the patient go to bed and 
apply over the uterine region a large linseed 
poultice on which is sprinkled a drachm of 
laudanum. Hot sitz baths should be persevered 
in several times a day. Copious vaginal injec- 
tions of water as warm as can be borne. Free 
purgation should be secured by rectal injections 
of warm water impregnated with common salt. 

If the flow is not re-established, all through 
the interval be attentive to general hygiene; see 



I9O PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

that the lower extremities are well protected 
from cold, and when the time approaches for the 
next menstrual effort, persevere in the same treat- 
ment as recommended before. Do not place too 
much confidence in the so-called forcing remedies 
— emmenagogues — they will fail nine times in ten. 
Hygiene. — If it is cool weather, dress warm ; 
wear flannels, so that the circulation in the skin 
is not impeded. Wear thick soled shoes. 
Mothers should instruct their daughters in 
regard to the dangers produced by repeated 
suppressions. Inattention to hygiene during and 
at the approach of the menses, is the chief cause 
of the long and complicated train of uterine 
affections and ovarian disease. Dr. Dewees 
gives the following: "A young lady put her feet 
several times into cold water during the flow of 
her menses, because she expected her lover, 
which quickly arrested them ; an inflammation 
of the womb followed, and she was brought 
dying into the hospital." 

PAINFUL MENSTRUATION. 

Many women suffer more pain during men- 
struation than they do in childbirth. Many 
ladies have told me that they would much 
rather have a child as often as nature would 
permit, than experience the excruciating pain 
peculiar to the menstrual effort. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. IQI 

The pain may be the result of different 
causes : 

First. — It is many times strictly neuralgic. 

Second. — The membrane lining the womb 
may be congested or inflamed, and when it be- 
comes still more engorged with blood at the 
time of the menses, dull, heavy, or sharp lanci- 
nating pain would be the result. 

Third. — Anything that prevents the easy 
escape of the menstrual discharge from the 
womb ; for instance, displacements or constricted 
cervix. A very peculiar variety of painful men- 
struation is that in which every month there is 
a membranous cast of uterine cavity extruded. 
Some ladies at the time of its expulsion have 
genuine bearing down pains. 

Treatment. — Should vary with the peculiar 
variety you are treating. If the first two varie- 
ties present themselves, use the same treatment 
recommended for suppressed menstruation. If 
the third form, where there is an obstructed 
flow, presents itself, first determine the cause 
and remove it. If there is a displacement of 
womb it must be replaced; if a contraction of the 
cervical canal, it must be dilated, either by the 
introduction of graduated metallic or hard rub- 
ber sounds or bougies, or by the use of tents 
made of sponge. To insert the bougies or 
tents the services of a scientific physician are 



I9 2 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

required. Dr. J. Marion Sim's method of cutting 
the walls of the cervix uteri and then inserting 
a roll of cotton, saturated in glycerine, is in- 
dorsed and practiced by our best surgeons. 

For the membranous form but little can be 
done, only to quiet the patient. Inhalation of 
sulphuric ether, sufficient to quiet the nervous 
excitation, is recommended. 

To lessen the pain peculiar to the different 
varieties of painful menstruation, Prof. Thomas, 
of New York, recommends the following: : 

" Hydrate of chloral, two drachms; chloro- 
form, one drachm ; morphine, one and one- 
half grains ; syrup of orange peel, eight ounces. 
Mix, and take a dessert spoonful in a wine 
glass of sweetened water every four hours 
while in pain." This prescription is palliative, 
and not curative. 

Prof. Jewett, of Bowdoin Medical College, 
recommends the following : 

Gum camphor, two and one-half drachms ; ex- 
tract of belladonna, sulphate of quinia, one-half 
a drachm of each ; pulverized gum arabic, a suffi- 
cient quantity to be made into eighty pills. 
One to be taken every four hours until there is 
relief. 

Bromide of potassium is strongly advocated 
by some as almost a specific, and should be 
given as follows : Bromide of potassium, one 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 1 93 

drachm ; syrup of orange peel, one ounce ; water, 
six ounces — mix. One ounce to be taken every 
five hours. 

PROFUSE MENSTRUATION. 

Many ladies lose more blood at the time of 
their menses than they would at childbirth, and 
before they can recuperate from the languor 
produced by one menstrual effort it is time for 
another. The quantity of menses varies in dif- 
ferent women. Peculiar idiosyncrasies are mani- 
fested in regard to the amount in a state of 
health. In one there may be scarcely enough 
to stain the clothes, in another you would mis- 
trust an abortion, the discharge is so profuse. 
Yet both may be in a state of health. If there 
are no constitutional effects there need be no 
anxiety. In this form of menstruation the blood 
often comes away in clots, which is not the case 
when the discharge is normal. 

Symptoms are similar to those peculiar to ex- 
cessive loss of blood, viz., languor, weakness 
across the loins, dizziness, headache, pale coun- 
tenance, etc. 

Cause. — Frequent miscarriages, excessive coi- 
tion, prolonged lactation, displacements of womb, 
general plethora, or its opposite, debility. 

Treatment. — Remove the cause if it can be 
determined, and to check the flow, apply cloths, 

i.3 



194 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

wrung out of cold water, over the uterus ; give 
iced drinks ; rectal injections of ice-cold water. 
Have the foot of the bed elevated some ten or 
twelve inches ; the room should be cool and the 
covering light. If these appliances do not check 
the flow, as a last resort use the tampon, and 
completely plug the vagina, as there will be no 
danger of internal hemorrhage, which we have 
said accompanies its use after childbirth. 

Dewees recommends the following internal 
astringent : Sugar of lead, two scruples ; gum 
opium, four grains ; to be made into twelve pills; 
one of these to be given every hour, as the 
symptoms warrant. 

Dr. Tanner, of London, uses the following : 
Gallic acid, fifteen to twenty-five grains; elixir 
vitriol, fifteen to twenty drops ; tincture of cin- 
namon, two drachms ; distilled water sufficient to 
make one ounce. This is for one dose. Mix it 
with two or three tablespoonfuls of sweetened 
water, and take every few hours in profuse men- 
struation. 

Eberle says : " Thirty to sixty drops of the 
tincture of cinnamon every hour or so works 
wonders in mild cases." He also recommends the 
following : Pulverized alum, one scruple ; pulver- 
ized ipecac, twelve grains — mix. Divide into six 
powders; one to be given every three or four 
hours. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 195 

IRREGULAR MENSTRUATION. 

One of the most common questions I have 
been asked, is this : " Why is there such a va- 
riety in the time, quality and quantity of the 
menses?" In the same woman there may be all 
the aforesaid irregularities within a short period. 

Causes. — Changes in the physical and mental 
organism. Menstruation is a symptom, and for 
its normal appearance health must rule, and the 
irregularities will ever correspond with the de- 
partures from it. A modification of the causes 
that produce absent and profuse menstruation 
will effect all the peculiarities in regard to time, 
quantity and quality. Hygiene and not dosing 
is required. 

VICARIOUS MENSTRUATION. 

Many times, when the menses are suppressed, 
the hemorrhage will take place in some other 
part of the body ; it may be from the nostrils, 
lungs, stomach, gums, ears, bladder, and, in fact, 
from any part of the body. Dr. Churchill gives 
the following interesting case : " A young lady 
had enormous vicarious menstruation from the 
mouth and gums, losing about six quarts each 
time." Dr. Blundell gives the following case, in 
which there was every three weeks, for at least 
three times in succession, a discharge from a sore 
on the hand, in the place of a discharge from the 



I96 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

uterus, observing the same period to which the 
patient had been accustomed. 

As, sometimes, there will be a leucorrhoeal se- 
cretion from the womb, instead of sanguineous, 
so sometimes there will be an increased flow of 
saliva, supplanting the menses. Siebold gives a 
case to the point. 

Treatment. — Same as for suppressed menses 
during the interval. If the vicarious bleeding is 
from the lung, or any important internal organ, 
internal astringents, of which gallic acid is the 
best, should be administered in from five to ten 
grain doses, to be taken in simple water. 

CHLOROSIS, OR GREEN SICKNESS. 

The popular name applied to this disease is 
green sickness, on account of the pale, bilious 
and greenish hue presented by the skin. It is 
most common about puberty. Prof. Thomas 
considers it a nervous affection. Churchill con- 
siders impoverished blood and a dejicieizcy of 
uterine action as the prominent causes. The 
predisposing causes are sedentary, in-door life, 
grief, home-sickness, disappointments in love, 
fear, or anything producing bodily inactivity or 
mental or emotional depression. 

Thomas says : " Chlorosis generally develops 
itself very insidiously. In a girl who has been 
previously in good health, languor, sadness and 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 1 9/ 

aversion to company first attract attention. 
These are followed by palpitation of the heart 
after exertion, scantiness of the menstrual flow, 
and a characteristic pale or greenish complexion. 
There is generally a deficiency in the red cor- 
puscles of the blood. 

Treatment should be more hygienic than 
therapeutic. Anything that will invigorate the 
body and dissipate the melancholic fancies and 
morbid imaginings pervading the mind will be 
beneficial. Light gymnastic exercises in the 
open air, playing croquet, horseback riding, 
sun-baths, nutritious diet, such as milk, raw 
eggs, beef, fish, ale, general bathing in water as 
cool as can be borne if no chilliness attends its 
use, electric baths. To dispel the mental gloom, 
traveling and attending amusements is recom- 
mended. As there is generally more or less 
ancemia, the following nerve and blood tonic 
may be used : Phosphate of iron, one drachm, 
to be divided into twelve powders, one to be 
taken thrice daily in water. Also the following 
nerve tonic may be used : Take tincture of nux 
vomica, one half ounce, six drops to be taken 
three times a day. The non-appearance of the 
menses in this disease results from the impover- 
ished blood, hence emmenagogues proper will 
do no good, and misrht result in harm. Enrich- 
ing the blood and quieting the nerves are the 



I90 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

best emmenagogues. Dr. Churchill says : " Stim- 
ulating injection into the vagina has been tried 
with success." Dr. Ashwell uses the following : 
" The ammonial injection, composed of one 
drachm of pure liquor ammonia to a pint of 
milk, daily injected into the vagina, has proved 
very efficient in the hospital" 

A WORD OF ADVICE. 

Mothers, you should be very watchful over 
your daughters' health as they approach puberty. 
You should not be so false modest as not to 
inform them in regard to the g7'and change they 
are about to undergo. Inattention to hygiene 
at this stage of woman's life has shattered more 
constitutions, and laid the foundation for a 
greater variety of diseases, than all other causes. 
Place in their hands books that scientifically treat 
of the anatomy, physiology and hygiene of the 
sexual system. 

PHYSOMETRA. 

The uterus sometimes is distended with a 
gaseoiis substance, which produces so much dis- 
tension that all the outward symptoms of preg- 
nancy are manifested ; and in fact it has often 
been confounded with it, as it is accompanied 
with some of the most prominent sympathetic 
symptoms of gestation. The menses are gen- 
erally suppressed, the breast enlarged and milk 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 1 99 

secreted. Percussing over the uterus gives the 
hollow sound. The origin of the flatus is a 
mooted point ; some claim it is a secretion, others 
that it is the result of decomposition of menstrual 
clots, others still, that it is nothing but air 
drawn tip into the womb. Many physicians have 
been deceived by this disease and have called 
cases pregnancy, whereas if they had made only 
a superficial physical examination they would 
have found it all — gas. 

Treatment. — The os uteri is generally closed; 
hence, kneading the abdominal walls, coughing, 
jumping, will sometimes effect the expulsion of 
the flatus. If these means do not succeed, the 
surgeon will have to insert a catheter into the 
uterine cavity. Many more women are troubled 
with this gaseous accumulation than is generally 
supposed. 

UTERINE DROPSY. 

The womb sometimes is greatly distended by 
the accumulation of a liquid in its cavity. The 
origin of the liquid is not fully settled. The os 
uteri is closed, so that the escape of the liquid is 
impossible. Percussion over the abdomen gives 
the flat sound. This affection may be con- 
founded with pregnancy if there is not the 
proper physical examination. 

Treatment. — Same as in physometra, viz., at- 



200 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

tend to the creneral health. A general altera- 
tive treatment would be beneficial. Take iodide 
of potassium, two drachms ; water, eight ounces 
— mix. Take a tablespoonful before each meal. 

UTERINE DISPLACEMENTS. 

Prolapsus uteri, popularly termed falling of 
the womb, is a very common affection. The de- 
gree of descent varies from the fraction of an 
inch to its appearance at the vulva, and in some 
cases more or less of the organ projects into the 
external world. This affection, as a rule, comes 
on quite slowly, and then again, in lifting and 
jumping, etc., it may take place suddenly. 

Virgins are sometimes affected, but it is more 
common in married women. 

Symptoms. — There is a fullness in the pelvis, 
sense of weight and dragging down, pain in the 
back and loins, irritation of the bladder and 
rectum. All the symptoms are aggravated when 
standing on the feet. There is a general fatigue 
and despondency of mind. 

Causes. — The vagina, we have said, is the 
main stipport of the womb ; hence, anything that 
increases the weight of the uterus will favor its 
descent, and at the same time, anything that 
weakens the vagina, even if the womb is normal 
in size and weight, will likewise produce pro- 
lapsus. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 201 

Chronic vaginal whites produces relaxation of 
the vagina, which would favor uterine descent. 

Increased weight of womb may result from 
hypertrophy, tumors, engorgement of blood 
during menstruation ; all of which conditions 
would favor prolapsus. 

Tight laciiig, by constricting the chest, presses 
the intestines down, and hence is a common 
cause, especially in fashionable circles. 

Treatment. — If relaxation of vagina is the 
cause, use mild astringent vaginal injections after 
the womb has been replaced. The use of pes- 
saries is highly important in many cases ; but 
great care should be used in their adjustment, 
and in selecting the proper kind. 

Hygienic Advice. — Throw aside the corsets ; 
give the ribs freedom of action ; have suspend- 
ers so arranged that the weight of the clothing 
is borne by the shoulders and not the hips. 

Abdominal supporters, if properly constructed 
and adjusted, are very useful, as they remove the 
weight of the intestines from the womb. They 
should be so adjusted that the intestines are not 
pressed down instead of elevated. 

Thomas says : " The principle upon which 
these supporters act is this — they should do 
just what the patient's hands do when she places 
them above the pubes and lifts the abdominal 
viscera." 



202 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

During menstruation assume the reclining 
position as much as possible. The womb during 
the menses is twice as heavy as usual. 

Do not be in such a hurry to get around after 
childbirth, as it takes the womb at least three 
weeks to return to anything like its original 
weight. 

For want of space we must dismiss any farther 
remarks concerning- this interesting and most 
common affection. 

ANTEVERSION OF WOMB. 

The uterus, in its normal position, is slightly 
inclined forward. An imaginary line drawn 
from the umbilicus to the coccyx, would pass 
through the center of the womb when it is in 
its natural situation ; but sometimes it is so far 
bent forward th-at it so presses against the 
bladder that cystitis or inflammation of the 
bladder is the result, and there will be quite 
frequent and many times painful urination. As 
the fundus of the womb is tilted forward, the 
os for the same reason will be pressed backward, 
which would result in painful menstruation, and 
be a prominent cause of sterility. 

The round ligaments that extend from the 
fundus are sometimes shortened, and therefore 
pull it forward. Churchill says : " Now the 
oblique position of the pelvis, when joined to 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 203 

the spinal column, would naturally favor the 
occurrence of anteversion were it not that the 
presence of the bladder, so often distended, 
offers an obstacle to its descent anteriorly. So 
long- as the bladder contains much urine, this 
accident may be considered impossible." 

Causes. — A tumor on the anterior of the 
fundus would, through the influence of gravity, 
tilt it forward ; a distended rectum, and the same 
general influences that produced simple pro- 
lapsus. 

Symptoms. — Difficult urination, and ofttimes 
retention, and the os uteri pressing against the 
posterior part of the vagina, would result in 
rectal irritation, and perhaps co?istipation. 

Treatment. — Lying on the back, allowing the 
bladder to be distended, removal of all pressure 
from above. In addition to these precautions 
there should be used an abdominal supporter, 
and a properly adjusted anteversion pessary. 

In the worst varieties of anteversion the phy- 
sician, by proper manipulation, should restore 
it to its place. 

RETROVERSION OF UTERUS. 

This signifies that the fundus is tilted in just 
the opposite direction from that in anteversion. 
A retroverted womb is most common in married 
women, an anteverted in the virgin. 



204 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

Symptoms. — Urinary trouble; pressure against 
the rectum would induce a dull aching pain in 
that region, and a constant desire to evacuate 
the bowels. In addition to these symptoms, 
there will be those peculiar to falling of the 
womb heretofore described. 

Cause. — Over -distended bladder, pressure 
from above and in front, ill-adjusted abdominal 
supporters. Thomas says: "It is no exaggera- 
tion to assert that the usual plan of manage- 
ment after parturition supplies one of the others 
mentioned above. The woman lying almost 
constantly upon her back, the heavy fundus 
naturally tends to fall backward into the hollow 
of the sacrum. Many nurses insist upon this 
position, and often for days refuse the patient 
the privilege of lying upon the side." 

But this is not all, many a nurse's reputation 
among ladies rests upon her capacity for preserv- 
ing the figure by tight bandaging. A powerfzil 
woman will often expand her whole force in mak- 
ing the bandage as tight as possible to accom- 
plish this purpose. No one who has watched 
this process can doubt its influence in displacing 
the uterus by direct pressure. 

Treatment. — Sir Jas. Y. Simpson says: "Some 
have recommended that the patient should be 
kept for a length of time in the horizontal posi- 
tion, and the late Dr. Rigby used to advise his 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 205 

patients to lie in the prone position, as that 
which was likeliest to benefit the morbid condi- 
tion." 

The first thing to be done, as in all the forms 
of displacement, is to remove the cause, if it can 
be determined ; then the physician should restore 
the organ to its proper position, which sometimes 
is easily effected. 

After it is once restored, a retroversion pessary 
should be inserted and adjusted. If there is 
constipation, the distension of the rectum will 
be a posterior support, although great care should 
be exercised that there is not too violent strain- 
ing and bearing down in defecation, which can be 
in part obviated by copious rectal injections of 
simple water. Be sure and see the bladder is not 
over-distended at any time. In all forms of 
uterine displacements keep off the feet as much 
as possible. 

FLEXIONS OF THE UTERUS. 

Ante-flexion is where the womb is flexed or 
doubled upon itself forward. 

Retro-flexion, where it is doubled backward. 

The cause, symptoms and treatment are so 
similar to those of the corresponding versions, I 
pass them without further comment. 



206 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

ULCERATION OF OS UTERI. 

This is a very common disease, and you would 
suppose, to hear some practitioners talk, it was 
the sum total of all uterine affections. Some 
physicians, when they cannot determine what is 
the matter, look wise, and finally say it must be 
ulceration. 

Location. — The mucous membrane covering 
that portion of the womb that projects into the 
vagina. 

The membrane may be at first only congested, 
but finally becomes inflamed, terminating in 
ulceration. By using the speculum the surface 
is found to be covered with a creamy liquid, 
composed of mucus and pus, and sometimes 
streaked with blood. When this liquid is re- 
moved, a red granulated surface is presented. 
The membrane that lines the cervical canal 
sometimes presents the same appearance. 

Symptoms. — Simulate often those of uterine 
leucorrhcea. 

Headache, dirty sallow hue of the skin, neu- 
ralgic pains in the rectum, bladder and mam- 
mary gland ; fixed pain not only in the back, but 
also in the center of the pelvis. Coition is pain- 
ful and often accompanied with an increased 
purulent secretion; great distress in walking. 

Causes. — Repeated suppression of the menses ; 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 20/ 

irritations from excessive coition ; pregnancy ; 
difficult parturition ; use of irritating injections, 
and improper use of pessary. 

Treatment. — Warm water should be injected 
so as to cleanse the diseased membrane, and 
then mild caustics applied directly to the part. 
Thomas says: "Applications should be made 
not only by the physician, who will probably 
use the speculum not oftener than once a week, 
but also by the patient, who should make them 
daily by injections and suppositories." 

Vaginal injections should be made thus : one 
gallon of warm water, one ounce of glycerine, 
and one drachm of white vitriol — mix. When 
there is much heat and irritation in the parts, 
Dr. Simpson recommends the topical applica- 
tion of bismuth. He describes the mode of 
using it thus : " But the most efficient remedy is 
bismuth, which you may prescribe in the form of 
a pessary, or which you may apply better still in 
the form of powder, either through a common 
speculum or by* means of a small tube." 

In all the varied forms of disease of the 
mucous membrane lining either the vagina or 
the protruding os, vaginal injections of water 
at that temperature which is most agreeable to 
the patient are beneficial. 

If the ulceration does not yield to the above 
treatment, the physician should be called, and 



208 



PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 



by the use of the speculum he will apply some 
mild caustic to the parts affected. 

Carbolic acid, one part, and sweet oil, two 
parts, is a caustic used by many. Each time 
the caustic is used the parts should be thor- 
oughly syringed with simple water before its 
application. Sexual intercourse should be inter- 
dicted. 

UTERINE TUMORS. 

There is nothing that will alarm the patient 
any quicker, and cause her to sink into a 
general despondency, than to inform her she 
has a tumor forming on the womb. There is 
apparently something disheartening in just the 
mere mention of the name, but many times 
there is no cause for so much despair, -for the 
simple reason there may be a tumor forming or 
formed that produces but very little constitu- 
tional trouble, and then again surgery is so far 
advanced, that many of them are easily re- 
moved. There has always been a mystery con- 
nected with the nature and cause of the varied 
forms of tumors. Prof. Miller, of Edinburgh, 
says : " The origin of tumor is yet a question 
unsettled! 1 Again he remarks: "Now any cause 
which in a person so predisposed, leads to an 
interruption, even temporarily, of the normal 
function of growth in a part, must necessarily 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 2O0 

lay that part peculiarly open to the action of 
the predisposing- causes of tumor." Carpenter 
says : " The tumor, in its growth, imitates no 
natural shape or construction ; the longer it 
continues the greater its deformity? 

Tumors are divided into two classes, viz., 
non-malignant and malignant. The former 
are amenable to treatment, can be extirpated 
and never again appear ; the latter are peculiarly 
dangerous in whatever part they may occur, 
and they are so related to the constitution that 
they manifest a tendency to recur if removed. 
All the surgeon can do in the malignant forms 
is to palliate; nothing but death can ever stay 
their destructive march. I will have time to 
refer to only a few of these abnormal growths. 

FIBROID TUMOR. 

This is a non-malignant growth, and is the 
most frequent disease of the womb, if we except 
congestion and its sequelae. It is claimed by 
some that forty per cent of the women that ar- 
rive at the age of fifty have this form of uterine 
tumor, and without doubt many of those intract- 
able forms of uterine displacements are the re- 
sults of these tumors. This form of tumor may 
affect any part of the uterine substance, and 
varies in size from that of a pea to one fifty 
pounds in weight. 



2IO PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

The appearance of the tumor varies from a 
fleshy vascular substance to that of a hard fibro- 
cartilaginous nature. 

Symptoms. — They are many times quite slight, 
their weight sometimes producing only a bearing 
down sensation ; then again they will produce 
the greatest constitution trouble. 

Large uterine fibroids many times simulate 
all the signs of pregnancy. Prof. Simpson gives 
the following : " One of the most striking ex- 
amples I ever met was in the case of a young 
unmarried lady — a governess — whom I saw 
many years ago. Everybody was talking of the 
tremendous blunder which had been made by a 
distinguished obstetrician, in having diagnosed 
pregnancy in the case of one of her Majesty's 
maids of honor, who was the subject of an 
ovarian tumor." 

It seemed as if many women were led to ex- 
amine their own abdomen, and in this way the 
young lady, of whom I speak, first had her sus- 
picions aroused, and, although she had never 
suffered from any kind of discomfort, the uterus 
was found enlarged to that of a uterus at the 
full time of pregnancy, from the growth of its 
walls of a large fibroid tumor. The tumor itself 
is but very little sensitive to pain, yet it often 
produces sympathetic neuralgia in nearly every 
part of the body. No physician, from a general 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 2 I I 

examination, should pronounce a case a fibroid 
tumor, as its presence can never be determined 
for a fact, without a perso7ial examination. 

Thomas says the causes are : " Race, the Afri- 
can being peculiarly liable ; age, from thirty-five 
to forty-five ; sterility ; menstrual disorders of 
long standing" Anything that is foreign to the 
womb, as a retained coagula, blighted ovum, etc., 
may be the nucleus for this abnormal growth. 

In regard to the cause, Prof. Miller says : "We 
had better confess our, ignorance than to busy 
ourselves with vague and valueless hypotheses." 

Treatment. — This should be palliative, yet 
sttrgical interference can be solicited, but never 
should be unless the most grave symptoms are 
present. Whether the tumors can be discussed, 
or, in popular language, scattered, writers do not 
agree. Scanzoni says : " We do not remember a 
single case in which, with the means indicated or 
with others, we have obtained the complete cure 
of a fibroid tumor." 

The following preparation is recommended by 
some of our best practitioners, and should be 
used for a great length of time. If it does not 
lessen or discuss the tumor, it may prevent its 
further enlargement : Iodide of potassium, one- 
half ounce ; water, one pint. Take one half table- 
spoonful three times a day. 

Bromide of potassium, in five-grain doses, three 



212 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

times a day, is favored by Dr. Simpson, and he 
claims it is more to be relied on than the iodide. 
General hygiene should be attended to. Good 
health and the development of the tumor are, to 
a degree, antagonistic. 

POLYPUS OF THE WOMB. 

This is quite a common affection of the womb, 
and is not confined particularly to any age, 
though, many times, it does not manifest itself 
until the turn of life. This tumor varies greatly 
in size, and its structure varies from the hard 
cartilaginous structure of the ordinary fibroid 
tumor to a soft vascular nature. It is generally 
attached by a pedicle or foot stalk to the mem- 
brane lining the uterine cavity. The tumor some- 
times hangs in the vagina, whilst the pedicle is 
attached to the inside lining of the womb ; then 
again the pedicle may be attached to the fundus, 
and the tumor is, so to speak, suspended in the 
uterine cavity. 

Cause. — Any prolonged irritation whatever. 

Symptoms.— Similar to those in ordinary fibroids 
with this exception, that there is a great ten- 
dency to hemorrhage. Simpson thus describes 
it in his lectures : " Frequently the first symptom 
that attracts the patient's attention, and sends 
her to consult a doctor, is the increase in the 
quantity of blood escaping at the menstrual times. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 213 

and the prolongation of the individual periods. 
Or it begins to escape irregularly and unexpect- 
edly during the inter-menstrual period, under any 
physical exertion or mental emotion, or without 
any kind of disturbance to which as a cause the 
bleeding can be referred. It may go on so fre- 
quently that the patient is oftener unwell than 
otherwise, the discharge continuing for two or 
three weeks at a time, and only drying up for 
a short interval. The quantity, too, may be so 
great that her strength gets drained away, and 
she becomes reduced to the last stage of an&- 
mia." 

When the tumor projects wholly or in part 
into the vagina, the diagnosis is easily made, but 
it is not so when it is situated in the uterine 
cavity. 

Treatment. — This is strictly surgical. Either 
by applying a ligature, incision or torsion, the 
pedicle is easily separated from its base. It is 
generally a simple operation, and has no bad 
train of symptoms attending it. When the 
tumor is wholly within the uterus the operation 
is not so easy, and where such is the case, the os 
must be dilated in the first place with the 
sponge tent. 

These polypi in the womb are one great cause 
of many of those menstrual irregularities, 
affecting time, quantity and quality. 



2 14 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

CAULIFLOWER TUMOR. 

This tumor is of a soft, vascular nature, and 
fleshy appearance. It presents an uneven sur- 
face, whereas the polypus is generally smooth. 
It is destitute of a pedicle, and much more 
prone to bleed than the polypus. 

Churchill says : " The first symptom that 
attracts the attention of the patient is 2A\. un- 
usual moisture about the external parts, and 
which soon assumes the appearance of a copious 
watery discharge from the vagina." 

Its external appearance and its pr oneness to 
bleed easily distinguish it from other tumors. 

There is no way to effect its removal, only by 
the use of the ligature, and this will be only a 
temporary cure, as this tumor manifests that 
peculiar quality of malignancy by reappearing 
after the operation. 

The great source of danger is hemorrhage, 
and, as a rule, all cauliflower tumors are fatal in 
their tendency. A physician should be very 
careful in his diagnosis of this affection, and 
not pronounce a case cauliflower tumor until 
he has submitted a thin slice of it to the micro- 
scope. The microscope never deceives. 

CANCER OF THE UTERUS. 

Of all affections to which woman is subject 
this is the most to be dreaded. Its synonym is 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 21 5 

death. It destroys, according to statistics, 
three times as many females as males. The 
nature of this disease is still a mystery ; no two 
agree. Rokilansky considers it a blood poison, a 
constitutional disease ; others claim that it is of 
a local origin. It manifests itself in two forms, 
but they are merely different stages of the same 
complaint. When the tumor is hard and 
there is no discharge, we term it scirrhus ; but 
when it softens and there is a breach of stiff ace 
from which there is constant exudation, then we 
term it cancer. 

Cause. — Hereditary transmission; but further 
than that we know but little. Anything that 
will debilitate the physical or depress the men- 
tal powers will predispose to cancer as it does 
to other diseases. It makes its attack between 
forty and fifty years of age, and for that reason 
many ladies suppose the turn of life — the 
critical period — favors its attack. It is a coinci- 
dence rather than a cause. 

Symptoms. — The pain, which sometimes does 
not manifest itself until quite late in the disease, 
is peculiar. Churchill says : " The character of 
this severe pain is described as lancinating — as 
though knives were plunged into the body'' 
Sometimes it is more of a burning sensation. 
The moment the hard tumor becomes opened 
the fetor of the discharges is different from 



2l6 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

anything manifested in other diseases. General 
emaciation, profuse hemorrhage at the time of 
the menses present themselves. Nothing can 
be done, in the way of treatment, only to quiet 
the pain, correct the fetor of the discharges, 
make the patient as quiet as possible. All hope 
of cure is delusive. The patient may linger 
along for years, but death will not give up his 
victim. 

OVARIAN DISORDERS. 

The ovaries, which are the analogues of the 
testes in the male, are glandular in their struc- 
ture, and are subject the same as other glands to 
a great variety of abnormal growths and dis- 
eases. We have space only to give a few hints, 
yet I find that ladies are eager for knowledge on 
this subject. 

OVARIES ATROPHIED OR ABSENT. 

The ovaries are sometimes absent, or so atro- 
phied that they cannot perform the office of 
ovulation, and when such is the case the period 
is much delayed. When you see a young lady, 
past the age of twenty, troubled with amenor- 
rhcea, and presenting the appearance and action 
of a o-irl, nine times in ten there is ovarian defi- 
ciency. About all that can be done is to tone 
the system with nutritious diet, mild exercise in 
the open air ; general bathing, followed by fric- 



&/SEASES OF WOMEN. 21 J 

tional applications, likewise iron tonic, are useful. 
Galvanic electricity may be applied with advan- 
tage, by placing one pole over the spine and the 
other over the ovarian region. 

OVARIAN HYPERTROPHY. 

Hypertrophy of the ovary is where it is en- 
larged. Dr. Bright gives a case where the ovary 
was enlarged to the size of a kidney. 

Cause. — Prolonged irritation, which finally 
terminates in a low grade of congestion. 

Symptoms. — A sense of weight and fullness in 
the ovarian region, and yet scarcely any pain or 
tenderness. Its increased size and weight may 
cause its displacement. 

Treatment.— Discutient remedies are recom- 
mended. Apply iodine externally, and take five 
grains of bromide of potassium in water three 
times a day, internally. 

Ovarian Inflammation is not a rare affection. 
It may be caused by suppressed menstruation ; 
by a blow over the iliac region ; and it seems to 
result many times from uterine disease. The 
left ovary is more frequently attacked than the 
right. 

Symptoms. — Acute pain in the ovarian region, 
great tenderness to the touch, and an aching 
sensation to the groin and down the thighs. 
There is a great tendency of the disease to ex- 



2 I 8 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

tend to the peritoneum, from which the pain and 
tenderness would be extended over the whole 
abdominal region. 

The inflammation may terminate by resolu- 
tion, or pus may be formed. 

Treatment. — Hot hip-baths night and morn- 
ing are beneficial. Hot cloths frequently changed 
should be placed over the diseased organ. The 
most perfect quiet should be observed. Further 
treatment would be the same as in any inflamed 
organ. 

OVARIAN DROPSY. 

This is perhaps the most common form of 
ovarian disease. When speaking about the 
ovaries, you will recollect that I said that after 
puberty they contain twenty or more ovisacs; 
these ovisacs contain a peculiar liquid, in which 
floats an egg, and it is claimed that ovarian 
dropsy is really a dropsy of the ovisac ; and most 
writers give the disease a different name, accord- 
ing as one or more of the ovisacs become dis- 
tended. The quantity of fluid contained by 
these sacs varies from a few ounces to several 
gallons. Dr. Churchill removed 140 gallons 
from one patient. A case is given by Ford 
where the patient was tapped 49 times, and 2,649 
pints of liquid were removed. It is wonderful 
how an organ that, many times, in a state of 
health is not larger than an almond, can be dis- 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 219 

tended to such enormous size ; and recollect it is 
generally not the whole organ that is affected, but 
only one or more of its cysts. The quality of the 
liquid varies from a clear serum to that of dirty 
brown material, more semi-liquid than liquid. 

Cause. — Thomas says : " Very little is known 
positively upon this subject. The predisposing 
causes which are generally admitted are the fol- 
lowing : Age, child-bearing, chlorosis, scrofulous 
diathesis, menstrual disorders." 

Symptoms.- — These are not prominent at first, 
although there is often a dull pain and sense of 
fullness from the very commencement. When 
the cysts become so much distended that they 
cannot remain in the pelvis, they, as a matter of 
course, rise into the abdominal cavity, and then 
the nature of the disease is better manifested. 

Churchill says : " Let us first enumerate the 
more prominent symptoms while the tumor is in 
the pelvis. These are at first very deceptive ; 
the patient feels a weight in the pelvis without 
any illness, and as it often happens, the menses 
are suppressed, the breasts painful, increasing in 
size, and sometimes secreting milk. She, of 
course, fancies herself pregnant. It is said that 
morning sickness occurs as in early pregnancy." 

But when the tumor rises up into the abdom- 
inal cavity, the pressure having been removed, 
all rectal and urinary trouble ceases; as the 



220 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

accumulation of liquid increases, there will be 
manifested most of the symptoms of ordinary- 
abdominal dropsy, or those peculiar to the ad- 
vanced stages of pregnancy. 

Treatment. — Medicine is of but little avail 
in this disease. Diuretics are sometimes given, 
with the hope to lessen the amount secreted. 
Iodine is given internally and used externally, 
with the hope of producing a certain amount of 
absorption. They are generally ineffectual. 

About all the physician can do is to combat 
symptoms and quiet the fears of the patient. 
The symptoms produced by the accumulated 
effusion soon become so grave the surgeon is 
called. He can relieve, but cannot cure. He 
plunges the trocar through the abdominal walls 
into the sac, and allows the liquid to escape. 
The patient cherishes the hope that now all will 
be well. Not so ; it is relief only for a brief 
time. The sac becomes gradually distended 
again, and she soon is as bad, or worse off than 
before. Her strength is constantly failing, and 
the trocar again is brought to the rescue. Mar- 
tineau tapped one patient 80 times and drew off 
6,631 pints. 

IS OVARIAN DROPSY EVER CURED? 

Miller says: "There is sometimes a spontaneous 
cure, and the tumor becomes smaller and smaller, 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 22 1 

and finally disappears? Some claim they have 
effected permanent cures by injecting into the 
empty sac, after the operation of tapping, a 
weak iodine solution ; and if it does not effect a 
permanent cure, it may temporarily arrest the 
disease. 

I am often asked: "Is tapping a dangerous 
operation ?" Prof. Simpson will answer for me : 
" I believe it by no means free from danger, more 
especially when performed for the first time." 
One in six die either immediately or within a 
very few hours after the first tapping. 

Many surgeons at the present time, instead of 
tapping the patient pro re nata, resort to that 
king of operations, ovariotomy, which con- 
sists in cutting through the abdominal walls, and 
removing the diseased ovary and its attached 
sac. The result of the operation is one death 
to about three recoveries. 

"Is the operation, as a rule, justifiable ?" 
Churchill answers : " On the other hand, bearing 
in mind that the ovarian disease must end 
fatally, and is but little influenced by medicine, 
and, moreover, that after the other operation for 
its relief — tapping — nearly one half die after 
the first attempt, we may conclude from the 
results of ovariotomy, that in some cases the 
operation is justifiable." 



222 



PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 



Simpson says it should be performed only in 
rare and exceptional cases. 

Thomas says : " Great as are the dangers of 
the operation, it offers a better prospect for 
recovery than any of the other plans mentioned ; 
and in case of their failure, it always remains as 
a reasonable hope for the patient, whose life will 
probably terminate in three or four years if art 
does not interfere." 




CHAPTER II. 



DISORDERS DURING PREGNANCY AND AFTER 
CONFINEMENT. 

NAUSEA AND VOMITING. 

WE have before stated that the morning 
sickness is a very common though not a 
constant attendant in gestation. There is no fixed 
time when it makes its appearance. Some ladies 
have told me that from the very moment of con- 
ception, and all through the pregnant state, they 
have had more or less nausea. Generally this 
troublesome symptom does not appear until 
four or five weeks after conception. Morning 
sickness is the term by which this disorder, or 
rather symptom, is known, yet it is not strictly 
correct, because it may manifest itself after each 
meal, and continue through the whole day. As 
a rule, this symptom requires no medical atten- 
tion ; then again it is beyond the control of the 
physician's skill. 

Treatment.— If the nausea is slight, a seid- 
litz powder is recommended. 

Dr. Heberden states that the application to 
the stomach of a folded cloth, moistened with 



224 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

laudanum, quiets when internal remedies have 
failed. 

Lemon juice and water, spearmint tea, mild 
bitter infusions, have their advocates. In ordi- 
nary morning sickness nothing is to be done 
only to be careful of the diet ; let it be simple 
and plain. 

WAKEFULNESS. 

Many ladies during pregnancy complain of 
sleeplessness, and they are restless, peevish and 
feverish. Churchill says : " The sleeplessness of 
pregnant women appears to be a purely nervous 
affection, excited by various causes, such as a 
heated bedroom, too little exercise, excessive 
motion of the child, uneasy sensations of the 
uterus, or sometimes apparently without any 
cause at all." 

Treatment. — Sponge the body with cool 
water just before going to bed, and it will often 
remove the feverishness. Foot-baths in warm 
water invite the blood to the extremities. Prof. 
Hammond advocates wine or lager beer in 
small quantities. Brown- Sequard's favorite pre- 
scription for this affection is: Take bromide of 
potassium, one-half ounce ; cinnamon water, two 
ounces. Take a teaspoonful on going to bed. 

headache. 
This affection arises from the sympathy 



I 
DISORDERS DURING PREGNANCY. 22$ 

existing between the brain and the uterus. It 
may be purely nervous, or it may arise from too 
much blood in the brain. The entire head may 
be affected or it may be confined to just one- 
half, or even limited to a small spot. 

All that is required is cool applications to the 
head and warm foot-baths on going to bed, or 
at any time. Bromide of potassium is recom- 
mended where the headache is plethoric, and 
tincture of valerian where it is purely nervous. 

Cold lotions should be applied to head, and 
hot applications to back of neck. 

CRAMPS. 

These are produced by the pressure of the 
womb on the nerves emerging from the pelvis, 
and they prevail more at the fourth and ninth 
months of gestation. 

VARICOSE VEINS. 

These are the result of pressure on the veins 
conveying blood from the lower extremities. 

SWELLING OF THE LOWER EXTREMITIES. 

This is a dropsical condition, and the cause of 
the effusion is pressure by the womb that 
retards the return circulation. 

Treatment. — In the last three disorders, 
about all that can be done is rest, in a recum- 
15 



2 26 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

bent position, as thereby the pressure will be 
partially removed. 

TOOTHACHE, SALIVATION, ETC. 

These are purely sympathetic, and but little, if 
anything, is to be done. 

Most of the other disorders peculiar to gesta- 
tion v/e have considered in another place. 

DISORDERS AFTER CHILDBIRTH.— MILK LEG. 

This is the popular term applied to the color- 
less swelling of one or both legs after childbirth. 
It is not so common after the first birth as it is 
in subsequent deliveries. It generally makes its 
attack in a very short time after delivery. 

Symptoms. — There is generally more or less 
pain and uneasiness in the pelvic region for a 
time, and soon the patient suffers with acute pain 
in the leo\ commencing- ofttimes in the calf of 
the leg. Dr. Burns says: "Sometimes the first 
symptom is sudden pain in the calf of the leg. 
Within twenty-four hours after the pain is felt 
the limb swells and becomes tense ; it is hot, but 
not red — it is rather pale and somewhat shin- 
ing: 

Cause. — Churchill says : " Almost all the cases 
I have seen have occurred after leaving bed at 
too early a period after delivery." 

Treatment. — Foment the limb with cloths 



DISORDERS DURING PREGNANCT. 2 2 "] 

dipped in warm hop tea. Envelop the limb in a 
linseed-meal poultice, and after the acute symp- 
toms are controlled pencil the limb with the fol- 
lowing lotion : Tincture of iodine, one-half ounce ; 
alcohol, one ounce — mix. 

In the last stages, after the tenderness has dis- 
appeared, a moderately tight flannel bandage 
may be applied to the limb. 

Dr. Burns observes: "This is not generally a 
fatal disease, but it is tedious and often accom- 
panied with hectic symptoms." 

PUERPERAL MANIA. 

It is a species of insanity peculiar to child- 
birth. It may make its attack, however, at any 
time from the commencement of gestation until 
the close of lactation. Its most frequent time of 
attack is a few days after childbirth. Patients 
suffering with this affection will manifest every 
stage of insanity, from that of despondency to 
actite mania. 

Causes. — Churchill says : " Fright, anger, sor- 
row, or any species of mental emotion, are often 
the mental excitants." Sleeplessness, excessive 
secretion of milk, irregularities of diet, etc., are 
the physical excitants. 

Treatment. — Remove the causes and send for 
a physician. 



CHAPTER III. 



VENEREAL DISEASE. 

THIS form of disease is divided into two 
classes — Gonorrhoea and Syphilis. Some 
authors claim that both classes are produced by 
the same poison ; other, and by far the greater 
number, advocate that they are the result of en- 
tirely distinct poisons. 

GONORRHOEA. 

Promiscuous sexual intercourse on the part of 
the female engenders in the vagina a specific 
animal virus. What it is we cannot determine — 
we cannot see it with a microscope — we cannot 
analyze it ; all we know about it is its existence. 
If a male has coition with such female, the virus 
attacks the mucous membrane of the urethra at 
its external orifice — the meatus urinarius — and 
after a period of incubation, varying from a few 
hours to several days, the following symptoms are 
manifested : heat and itching of the glans penis ; 
the meatus is red and swollen ; urination painful. 
The inflammation, which was at first confined to 
the external orifice, soon extends the whole length 
of the urethra, even to the membrane lining the 



VENEREAL DISEASE. 2 2Q. 

bladder. At first the membrane implicated is 
dry, as is usual when any mucous membrane 
is congested ; but congestion is soon followed by 
inflammation, and the membrane, at first dry and 
swollen, soon shows a secretion which, at first, is 
limpid, but soon becomes dark, turbid and puri- 
form. At this staore of the disease there is wn- 
erally a feverishness of the system, and sympa- 
thetic pains in the groin, testicles, and other parts 
of the body, are felt. 

Chordee. — An abnormal erection of the penis 
occurs when the whole track of the urethra is 
inflamed, and it is attended with severe pain. 

Gonorrhoea, in its grave forms, may produce 
inflammation of the bladder, prostate gland and 
testes, stricture of the urethra. 

Hygienic Treatment. — If hygiene is care- 
fully observed, the disease requires but very little 
medical regimen. Rest, low diet, abstinence 
from sexual intercourse, sitz baths in cold water 
urethral injections of ice-cold water, abstinence 
from condiments and alcoholic stimulants, cold 
mucilaginous drinks, slippery elm tea, will gener- 
ally effect a cure, if they are attended to early. 
Many times this disease terminates in gleet, a 
condition in which the grave symptoms have 
subsided, and the secretions are partially re- 
stored to their natural condition. 

Medical Treatment. — If the physician is 



23O PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

seen early, he will perhaps inject up the urethra 
a strong solution of nitrate of silver. This is 
called the abortive cure, but should never be 
resorted to except in the first stages. If the 
physician is not seen until the inflammatory 
stage has commenced, then his treatment should 
be strictly antiphlogistic. The same hygienic 
precautions as before mentioned should be 
observed. Epsom salts should be given daily in 
small doses ; they are cathartic, diuretic and re- 
frigerant. If chordee exists, apply cloths dipped 
in cold water to the penis, and take a pill, at 
bed time, composed of opium and camphor, one 
grain each. As soon as the inflammatory stage 
has subsided, then mild stimulating or astrin- 
gent injection may be used ; also stimulating 
diuretics should be given internally. The fol- 
lowing injection is recommended in the last 
stages : Take sugar of lead and white vitriol, 
two grains each ; rose-water, four ounces ; inject 
morning and evening. 

The following has its advocates : Take chlo- 
ride of zinc, two grains ; glycerine and water, 
one ounce each; inject morning and evening. 

The following diuretic is recommended : 
Take tincture of cubebs, two ounces ; morphine, 
two grains; aqua camphor, four ounces — mix; 
a teaspoonful every four hours, to be taken in a 
tablespoonful of water. 



VENEREAL DISEASE. 23 1 

Injecting a little sweet oil or glycerine into 
the urethra, just before urination, will obviate 
the scalding effects of the urine. We have, so 
far, confined our remarks to gonorrhoea in the 
male ; we will now note the peculiarities of the 
same disease in the female. 

GONORRHOEA IN FEMALE. 

We have already shown that the gonorrhceal 
virus produces a congestion and inflammation of 
the mucous lining of the urethra, and ofttimes 
the bladder in the male. In the female it in- 
flames the membranous lining of the vulva, 
vagina and urethra. The origin of the virus 
we have already considered ; the symptoms 
produced by it are, at first, an itching sensa- 
tion, soon followed by heat and burning in the 
vagina and urethra; frequent desire to urinate 1 ; 
sense of weight and fullness in the perineum. 
The mucous lining passes through the same 
stages that it did in the male. Leucorrhcea — 
vaginitis — often closely simulates this disease, 
but generally the urethral irritation, scalding 
sensation of the urine, suddenness of the attack 
and greater virulence of the symptoms peculiar 
to gonorrhoea, distinguish it from any other 
disease. The treatment is quite similar to that 
given for the same disease in the male. If the 
physician is called early, the abortive cure — 



232 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

viz., nitrate of silver injections — may be tried ; 
but if the disease is fully developed, you must 
allay the inflammation most by hygienic applica- 
tions. Sexual intercouse should be interdicted ; 
sitz bath in cool or warm water, just as is most 
agreeable ; copious vaginal injections of cool 
water medicated with one scruple of sugar of 
lead and three grains of morphine to each pint. 
The rest of the treatment is the same as that 
given for the male, recollecting that the stimu- 
lating injections and internal diuretics must not 
be given until the inflammation has subsided. 

I am often asked whether the leucorrhceal 
secretions ever are so virulent as to produce 
gonorrhoea in the male. I answer by saying 
this is still a mooted point ; there are good 
authorities on both sides. That the acrid secre- 
tions of leucorrhcea will sometimes produce 
urethral inflammation is a fact ; the point not 
yet settled is this : Is the inflammation ide7itical 
with that produced by the specific poison pecu- 
liar to gonorrhoea ? 

SYPHILIS IN THE MALE. 

No disease is more to be dreaded than this. 
Whereas the hungry cancer devours, as a rule, 
only 07ie part at a time, syphilis, especially in its 
last stages, swallows its victim alive. No tissue 
or organ is exempt from its ravages. Bone, 



VENEREAL DISEASE. 233 

muscle, lymphatic and nerve are equally relished. 
Not only does its victim suffer directly, but un- 
told misery may be transmitted to future gener- 
ations. 

The animal virus of this most despicable dis- 
ease is supposed to have its origin in impure 
and promiscuous coition, but just what it is no 
one can tell. 

If a male has coition with a female suffering 
with syphilis, after a period varying from one to 
ten days there will appear on the glans penis one 
or more red, fiery pimples. In a short time they 
become so many little vesicles; finally the burst- 
ing vesicle becomes an ulcer; the ulcer is termed 
a chancre. This stage of the disease is termed 
primary, and is easily cured. If the chancre is 
thoroughly cauterized with nitrate of silver, art 
eschar is formed. By fomenting the parts with 
cloths dipped in warm water or linseed-meal 
poultice, the eschar is soon separated, and the 
base from which it has been removed will heal 
like any healthy granulating surface. The dis- 
ease is cured, and none of the poison has con- 
taminated the blood. But shame and false 
modesty silence the patient ; not even his bed- 
fellow knows it. The secret is kept within his 
own breast ; he allows the disease to continue its 
ruthless march. 

If the primary stage is not treated, the poison 



234 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

in the chancre is taken up by the hungry absorb- 
ents, thence it is conveyed by the lymphatics to 
the lymphatic glands in the groin. The glands 
soon become congested and inflamed, and finally 
end in suppuration. This affection of the in- 
guinal glands is termed bubo. The onward 
march is still continued, and soon the blood in 
every artery, vein and capillary is tinctured with 
the deadly poison. It is now termed secondary 
syphilis. The hair begins to fall out ; there is a 
copper-colored eruption on the skin ; the fauces 
are soon inflamed and ulcerated, and syphilitic 
neuralgia may affect any nerve in the body. 
Iritis is a frequent complication. 

If therapeutical aid is still unsought, onward 
to death is the watchword, and what is termed 
the tertiary stage is now established. The last 
citadel, the skeleton, is besieged by the deadly 
foe. Bony tumors, termed nodes, are formed on 
the tibiae, ulnae, clavicles, sternum, and may 
attack the cranium, and many times the quar- 
ternary stage — death — does not take place un- 
til syphilitic ulceration has consumed a portion 
of the skull, and made its attack on the palace 
of the soul — the brain. 

The hasty sketch we have given imparts to 
the general reader a bird's-eye view of some of 
the metamorphoses of this loathsome disease. 
Yet, if we should be specific in our descriptions, 



VENEREAL DISEASE. 235: 

we should find that the syphilitic virus manifests 
its effects primarily in the production of at least 
four different kinds of chancre, viz., simple vene- 
real ulcer, ulcer with raised and well defined 
edges, the Hunterian or true chancre, and the 
phagedenic ulcer. It is advocated that four dif- 
ferent degrees of virulence of the same poison 
cause these four peculiar effects. Others, on the 
other hand, claim they are the result of four dis- 
tinct specific poisons. We have not the space, 
and it is not very important, to specify their 
differences, as they all require nearly the same 
treatment in the commencement, viz., they should 
all be thoroughly cauterized, either with nitrate 
of silver, potassa fusa, or nitric acid. 

Treatment. — During the secondary stage, 
succeeding especially the hard or Hunterian 
chancre, mild mercurials are recommended ; yet 
they should be watched closely. Napheys uses 
the following : " Corrosive sublimate and muri- 
ate of ammonia, six grains of each ; compound 
tincture of Peruvian bark, two ounces ; water, 
four ounces. Directions : Take a teaspoonful 
morning- and evening for one week ; afterward,, 
thrice a day after eating. When the medicine 
has been taken for twelve or fifteen days, it is a 
good plan to omit it for four or five days, and 
then resume it again. In the first and fourth 
forms of chancre, mercurials should be avoided. 



236 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

For tertiary symptoms, which generally ap- 
pear, if the disease is not stayed in its course, 
several months after the blood first becomes 
poisoned, the iodide of potassium is the anchor 
of hope. The principle of cure is to eliminate 
the poison from the system, and to combat the 
pathological effects and their symptoms on gen- 
eral principles. 

There is no better blood purifier than iodide 
of potassium. Prof. Miller says : " It is best 
given in the form of solution, beginning with a 
dose of two or three grains, given thrice daily, 
and gradually increasing it to half a drachm or 
more, according as it is borne." 

In our sketch of this disease we have only 
given general facts, and have not time for spe- 
cial. No one afflicted with this terrible affection 
should attempt to treat himself. Let him con- 
sult a scientific physician as soon as there is the 
least evidence that a chancre is making its ap- 
pearance. 

SYPHILIS IN THE FEMALE. 

This loathsome disease affects the female in 
just the same manner as it does the male ; that 
is, the secondary and tertiary stages do not differ 
in the least, and the primary differs only in the 
location of the chancres or sores, they being 
found in the female on the vulva or even high up 
on the vao-inal walls. 



VENEREAL DISEASE. 237 

I am often asked whether syphilis is ever 
communicated except by coition. I answer, 
yes. It may be in any way by which the virus 
is brought in contact with an abraded surface of 
any part of the body, as by means of clothes 
worn by such patients, or by means of privy- 
seats, etc. 

It is claimed by some that constitutional 
syphilis never affects the same person the sec- 
ond time ; that once having it is a safeguard 
against a second attack ; and syphilization has 
been advocated as the best means of arresting 
the spread of the disease. 

Trail says : " Many experiments have been 
instituted for the purpose of determining the 
possibility of producing the various forms of 
venereal disease by inoculation. The method 
usually adopted has been the insertion of the 
virus under the cuticle, as in the case of ordinary 
vaccination. In some cases the cuticle has been 
removed by a blister, and the virus applied to 
the denuded surface. And in this way syphilitic 
pustules have been induced in persons whose 
whole systems were contaminated with the dis- 
ease. Constitutional syphilis has also been in- 
duced in healthy persons by scarifying the skin, 
and dressing the wounds with the blood of 
syphilitic patients." 

Syphilization consists in that condition of the 



2$S PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

system by which immunity against the disease is 
established by inoculating the body with the 
virus as long as any development of syphilis re- 
sults. The idea of inoculating the whole of 
mankind is to any person of moral culture both 
shocking and disgusting. 

SYPHILIS IN THE INFANT. 

This disease, like consumption, epilepsy and 
rheumatism, is transmissible from parents to 
foetus. 

If either father or mother is afflicted with 
constitutional syphilis in the secondary stage, 
the children begotten will be infected, and if 
both parents are free from the disease, it may be 
communicated to the child by nursing a female 
that has secondary syphilis. 

Miller says the prominent symptoms of chil- 
dren born of syphilitic parents are as follows: 
"Hoarseness of cry; a shriveled, lean state of 
body; an anxious expression of face, often senile; 
chaps at the flexures of the limbs and on the 
nates; a copper-colored eruption, sometimes 
studded with pustules, more frequently scaly ; 
discharge from the nostrils, excoriation of the 
mouth and throat." 

Parents affected with tertiary syphilis cannot 
transmit the poison to their offspring, yet a child 
born of such parents will often manifest scrofu- 



VENEREAL DISEASE. 



239 



lous symptoms. The syphilitic poison may pass 
through several generations in a latent state, but 
finally, with perhaps redoubled force, will sud- 
denly spring into activity. 




CHAPTER IV. 



DISEASES OF RECTUM. 
CONSTIPATION. 

THIS is regarded by many as a trivial com- 
plaint, yet it is very common, and I think is 
a prominent cause of ill-health. Ladies are more 
subject to it than men, for several reasons, viz : 
they are more sedentary in their habits, their 
muscular power is less, and hence the muscular 
coat of the lower bowel would have less expul- 
sive power, and finally, during pregnancy, the 
gravid uterus pressing against the bowel, would 
naturally produce costiveness. Torpor of the 
liver, by its non-secretion of bile, favors this 
complaint. It is claimed by some that excess- 
ive action of the intestinal absorbents removes 
so much of the fluid portion of the faeces, that 
by the time the contents of the bowel arrive at 
the rectum they are dry and hard, and can be 
evacuated with great difficulty. 

Treatment. — This should be mostly hygienic. 
The constant use of pills is a prominent cause 
of many of the confirmed chronic cases of con- 
stipation. First, regulate the diet ; live more on 



DISEASES OF RECTUM. 24 1 

ripe fruits : three ripe apples a day should be 
eaten. Brown bread is better than that made 
of patent No. i flour ; cracked wheat mush is 
better still. Abstain from all astringent and 
stimulating articles, such as cinnamon, nutmegs,' 
etc. Second. Kneading the abdomen alonor the 
track of the colon is beneficial. 

Copious injections of simple water, with the 
ordinary bulb syringe, is preferable to pills. 
Inject slowly, so that the liquid will be thor- 
oughly absorbed. 

I claim the most obstinate case of constipa- 
tion can be cured nine times out of ten by 
establishing a habit of defecating at a regular 
time, each day. It has been said we are a 
bundle of habits ; if such is the case, it is our 
duty to see there are more good than bad ones 
in the bundle, and this habit of regular defeca- 
tion is a good one. This last form of cure may 
be ridiculed by some on account of its simpli- 
city. Dewees recommends a tumblerful of rich 
bran tea, sweetened or otherwise, to be taken 
each morning before breakfast. 

Drink a tumblerful of cold water on ofoino- to 
bed. 

If the preceding treatment proves, after a 

thorough trial, to be ineffective, either of the 

following prescriptions may be tried. The first 

is that of Dr. Van Buren, of New York: Take 

16 



242 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

extract of aloes, one-half drachm ; extract of nux 
vomica, six grains ; extract of hyosciamus, one 
scruple; pulverized ipecac, one grain — mix and 
divide into twenty pills ; one to be taken at 
night on going to bed. 

The following is recommended : Take rhu- 
barb, two scruples ; aloes, one scruple ; extract 
nux vomica, four grains — mix, divide into 
twenty pills ; one to be taken three times a day. 

PILES. 

The scientific name for this disease is hemor- 
rhoids, and it is divided into two classes — 
external and internal. The external pile tumor 
is nothing- but a varicose or distended condition of 
the veins that are distributed to the rectum, but 
at the same time the mucous membrane is highly 
congested and inflamed. The tumor varies in 
size from a pea to that of a goose egg. When 
the tumor, from ulceration or any other cause, 
emits blood, it is termed bleeding piles ; when 
there is no emission of blood, it is popularly 
termed blind piles. Internal piles may be either 
a varicose condition of the hemorrhoidal veins, 
or they may be fleshy tumors attached to the 
mucous membrane, and as a rule are not visible, 
unless they are very much enlarged and 
elongated, and then especially during defecation 
they are pressed down into the outer world, 



DISEASES OF RECTUM. 243 

and when constricted by the sphincter ani, they 
are the source of the most excruciating pain. 

As there is but little danger of mistaking this 
affection for any other, I will pass by the symp- 
toms and specify somewhat minutely the causes. 
Anything that will prevent the return of the 
venous blood from, or determines the arterial to 
the rectum, will tend to produce this affection. 

The arteries convey the blood to the rectum, 
and the veins convey it back. The walls of the 
arteries are quite thick and unyielding; the walls 
of the veins are thin and relaxed. The blood 
flows swiftly through the arteries, but has a 
tardy, sluggish motion through the veins. With 
these three anatomical and physiological facts 
just mentioned, we can easily understand how 
the following causes produce this most vexatious 
and many times most painful affection. 

Causes. — First. Sedentary habits, or standing 
on the feet too long at a time. Second. Consti- 
pation: the impacted faeces press so hard against 
the walls of the bowels that the return circu- 
lation through the veins is impeded. Third. 
Torpidity of the liver: the veins arising from 
the intestines, large and small, from the spleen 
and stomach, run into each other and form what 
is termed the portal vein, which enters the liver 
and sends its ramifications to every part of it ; 
hence you can easily understand how the torpor 



244 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

of the liver would produce venous distension. 
Fourth. Drastic purgations: for the reason that 
the irritation produced by them would invite 
the blood through the arteries in larger quanti- 
ties than could be returned. Without doubt 
the pernicious habit of pill dosing every time 
there is any ailment, however trivial, is a very 
prominent cause of much of the rectal trouble of 
the day. Fifth. Pregnancy : by the pressure of 
the gravid uterus, especially at that point where 
the bowel is in contact with the brim of the 
pelvis. 

Some of the principal predisposing causes 
are — 

First. Temperament: the bilious or lymphatic 
favors it. Second. Age: from twenty-one until 
fifty. Third. Highly seasoned and stimulating 
food. Fourth. Clothes worn so tightly they 
compress the abdomen. 

Treatment. — This should be both constitu- 
tional and local. If there is torpor of the liver, 
overcome it with the following: Hydrargyrum 
cum creta, two grains ; white sugar, thirty grains 
— mix; divide into six powders, one to be taken 
at night on going to bed. Overcome constipa- 
tion as described when treating on that sub- 
ject. Particular attention should be devoted to 
hygiene, as prescribed when treating on consti- 
pation. 



DISEASES OF RECTUM. 245 

Local Treatment. — If the piles are inflamed 
and painful, sitz baths in cold water work 
wonders ; let the temperature be as low as 55 
to 6o° Fahrenheit. Inject into the bowel just 
before defecation at least four ounces to a pint 
of ice-cold water. Many times when the pain is 
very severe, the insertion of a small piece of ice 
into the rectum, and allowing it to remain until 
melted, is recommended. Care, of course, should 
be observed in the insertion that the parts are 
not irritated. If the tumor is pressed down and 
constricted, it should be immediately replaced. 
After the stage of excitement is passed, and the 
pile and adjoining tissues are somewhat indolent, 
then the proper application of astringents is in- 
dicated, but in no case should they be applied 
when there is a hiah state of congestion. 

Many of the pile ointments are highly as- 
tringent, and of course must aggravate the dis- 
ease if used indiscriminately. The following 
astringent is often used : 

Take tannin, ten grains ; morphine, four 
grains; lard, one ounce — mix, and apply to 
parts on going to bed. If possible insert some 
above the sphincter. Be sure and inject cold, 
and not warm water, before each defection. 



246 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

RADICAL CURE. 

The tumors are sometimes excised and no ill 
consequences follow. The great danger would 
be hemorrhage, and on account of the highly 
congested state of the tissue, it is almost un- 
controllable. The safest, and just as sure if not 
quite so quick a mode, is resorting to the ligature. 
Fistula in ano, abscess exterior to the rectum, 
prolapsus ani, and many of the urinary affections, 
are the result of or aggravated by piles. 

To control the profuse hemorrhage that many 
afflicted with the piles are subject, either inject 
some highly astringent liquid or perhaps resort 
to the tampon. Burne, a noted writer, recom- 
mends the following : one half teaspoonful of 
turpentine, mixed with yolk of &gg, to be taken 
internally. 




CHAPTER V. 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 
GRAVEL— ITS CAUSE AND CURE. 

HEALTHY urine is of a straw color, and has 
a specific gravity a little higher than water, 
for the reason that it holds in solution certain 
solids. The gravity varies in a state of health, 
in the same person, at different times during the 
day ; it is least in the morning and greatest after 
meals. The more profuse the urination, as a 
rule, the less the gravity. Ordinarily about two 
pints are passed in twenty-four hours. When 
urine is tested it reddens vegetable blues the 
same as acids do. If healthy urine is allowed to 
remain for some time in a vessel there is scarce- 
ly any deposit, except a small amount of mucus, 
but when there is any departure from health it 
deposits a sediment which varies in quantity, 
quality and appearance. There are at least five 
different kinds of deposits, but we have space 
to refer to but three of the most common, and 
most important to the general reader. 

i. The Uric Acid. — This is the most common 
of the five. The acid may exist either in a free 



248 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

state, or it may be combined with ammonia, 
magnesia, lime, etc. The sediment is of a red- 
dish hue, and is popularly called the brick-dust 
sediment. Although many of the deposits do not 
take place until the urine is emitted and cooled, 
yet the uric acid may be while it is retained in 
the bladder or kidney. 

Causes. — Dr. Golding Bird, who is the highest 
authority in urinary disorders, enumerates the 
following causes : " 1. Waste of tissues more 
rapid than the supply, as in fever, rheumatism, 
etc. 2. Supply of nitrogen in food in greater 
quantities than is required for the reparation of 
tissues, as by excessive indulgence in animal 
food and by too little exercise. 3. Digestion in- 
sufficient to assimilate an ordinary and normal 
supply of food, as in dyspepsia. 4. Obstruction 
to the cutaneous outlet for nitrogenized excre- 
tion by skin diseases or other cause. 5. Con- 
gestion of the kidneys, following injury of the 
organs, or disease wherein they are affected by 
sympathy." 

Treatment. — Avoid the causes and live most- 
ly on vegetable diet, and abstain from alcoholic 
stimulants ; let alkalies be taken internally, of 
which bicarbonate of potash, in fifteen-grain doses, 
dissolved in a half tumbler of water, is the best. 
The medicine should be taken about an hour 
after each meal. 



DISEASES OF RECTUM. 249 

2. Oxalate of Lime Deposit. — The urine in 
which this deposit takes place, many times is per- 
fectly normal in appearance, but some twelve or 
twenty-four hours after it is voided, ajine colorless 
deposit can be seen. The crystals are many times 
deposited while the urine is retained in the blad- 
der. 

Causes. — Miller enumerates the following: 
" Over-exertion of mind or body; excess of vene- 
real indulgence ; habitual and gross errors of 
diet ; exposure to cold ; injuries done to the 
lower part of the spine." 

3. The Phosphatic Deposit. — This deposit is 
of a white appearance, and when analyzed is 
found to be phosphoric acid, combined either with 
lime, or ammonia and magnesia. 

Cause. — Anything that exhausts the nervous 
system. To counteract the formation of these 
last two deposits, the mineral acid should be 
given in doses of but a few drops, very much di- 
luted. 

These various sediments are often deposited 
around some nucleus in the bladder, or even in the 
kidney itself, forming calculi or concretions, which 
may vary in size from that of a millet seed to 
that of a goose egg. 

Perhaps before now you have experienced 
sharp needle-like pains darting through the lum- 
bar region ; probably you have called it neural- 



25O PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

gia or lumbago, but if the truth were known, 
those stinging, lancinating pains are produced by 
the concretions of the kidney passing down the 
ureter to the bladder. This is termed a fit of 
gravel, and as soon as the concretions arrive in 
the bladder, the pain ceases at once ; and if they 
remain in the bladder long, they will become 
larger and larger by still further deposits, and 
finally will be the cause of great urinary trouble. 
The surgeon now is called, and if he cannot save 
internal remedies that will effect the solution of 
the concretions, or if he cannot, through the use 
of instruments passed into the bladder, crush 
them so that the fragments can pass through the 
urethra into the external world, as a last resort 
he performs the operation of lithotomy, which 
consists in cutting through the tissues into the 
bladder and removing them through the open- 
ing. 

IRRITABLE BLADDER. 

The bladder is composed of three coats. 
The external is a serotis membrane, similar in 
structure to the pleurae that envelop the lungs. 
The middle coat is muscular in its nature. The 
inner membrane, or that with which the urine 
comes in direct contact, is a mucous lining. 
This last named coat is subject to congestion 
and inflammation, and when such is the case it 
is termed inflai7imation of the bladder. Some- 



DISEASES OF RECTUM. 25 I 

times the membrane is not inflamed but is 
very sensitive, and the urine, if acrid, will pro- 
duce the following symptom ; a constant desire 
to urinate. There is not so much pain as 
uneasiness, and if the condition is not rectified, 
the membrane will soon be congested. 

Treatment. — Search for the cause and re- 
move it. If the urine is high-colored or there 
is much sediment deposited, the treatment here- 
tofore described under the head of gravel should 
be observed. Drink freely slippery elm tea ; it 
will tend to dilute the urine and at the same 
time quiet the sensitive membrane. 

RETENTION OF URINE IN THE MALE. 

When the kidneys do not perform the secret- 
ory office there is a suppression of urine, and 
fatal symptoms soon manifest themselves ; but 
the urine sometimes is properly secreted and 
passes readily into its proper reservoir, the 
bladder, and there it is retained. The bladder 
is sometimes distended to three times its usual 
size. There is a constant desire to evacuate the 
bladder, but it is impossible. There is straining, 
pain and great distress. We shall mention but 
a few of the many causes of retention. First, In 
old persons, many times, the muscular or middle 
coat of the bladder is partially paralyzed ; the 
bladder becomes greatly distended, and yet 



252 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

there is not sufficient muscular power to expel 
the urine. Treat this form of retention with 
nerve stimulant, such as small doses of mix 
vomica, or by the application of electricity. 
Second cause, stricture of urethra. Third, en- 
larged prostate gland. To remove these last 
two causes belongs to the surgeon. 

The last cause to which I invite your atten- 
tion is a spasm of the neck of the bladder. To 
overcome the spasm, sitz baths in warm water 
will generally be all that is needed. 

RETENTION OF URINE IN THE FEMALE. 

The gravid uterus, by displacing the bladder, 
is a common cause. Tumors, by pressing 
against the urethra, will produce complete re- 
tention many times. Paralysis of the muscular 
coat, the same as in the male. Hysterical 
patients many times suffer from this affection. 
There may be a spasm of the neck of the 
bladder, as a cause, or stricture of the urethra : 
but in the female these last two forms are quite 
rare. In case of retention of urine in the 
female seek the services of an educated physi- 
cian. Sitz baths in water as warm as it can be 
borne are always advisable. 



DISEASES OF RECTUM. 253 

INVOLUNTARY URINATION IN OLD AGE. 

Many old persons, and likewise those of 
middle age in certain diseases, as low fevers and 
partial paralysis, seem to have no control over 
urination. The principal cause is atony or par- 
tial paralysis of the sphincter muscle of the 
bladder, and when urine accumulates in the 
bladder it is beyond the control of the will 
power to retain it ; or the urine may dribble 
away as fast as it arrives in the bladder from 
the kidneys. 

Treatment. — Sitz baths in cool water, electri- 
city to the urinary region, small doses of tincture 
of nux vomica or tincture of cantharides. 

PAINFUL URINATION. 

This arises ofttimes from congestion of the 
membrane that lines the urethra, and as the 
acrid urine passes over this highly sensitive 
membrane, it produces scalding, burning, lanci- 
nating pains. 

The cause is, first, the acrid urine ; second, 
the congested membrane ; and hence the cure is 
to remove both conditions. Rectify the urine 
as described heretofore, and take sitz baths 
daily in warm water; abstain from stimulants 
and condiments ; live mostly on vegetables ; 
drink slippery elm tea freely. 



CHAPER VI. 



RUINOUS HABITS OF YOUTH. 

MASTURBATION, Self Pollution, Self 
Abuse, Solitary Indulgence, Onanism, 
which are different names for the same habit, is 
more frequent than most parents realize. No habit 
more than this so debilitates the physical system, 
so stultifies the intellect, and degrades the moral 
powers; and if you visit our insane and idiotic 
asylums, you will find more taken there on ac- 
count of over-indulgence of the sexual appetite 
than from the use of whisky, tobacco, over-ex- 
citement of business, or any other cause. The 
reason there is such prostration of body, de- 
thronement of mind, and perverted moral power, 
is because the indulgence of this habit robs the 
brain of the very elements upon which the mind 
feeds. If you analyze the brain and nervous 
system, they contain more phosphorus than any 
other part of the body. An analysis of the 
semen shows it likewise contains more phos- 
phorus than any other secretion of the body. A 
German philosopher has truly said, " without 
phosphorus no thottght "/ and we might say that 



RUINOUS HABITS OF YOUTH. 255 

every emotion, every passion, is accompanied 
with a phosphorescent glare. 

It is the duty of parents to exercise a cautious 
but careful watch over their children, to ascertain, 
as soon as possible, whether this debilitating 
habit has been commenced. As it is always 
practiced in private, it is not so easy to ascertain 
the fact, hence I will give some of the symptoms 
manifested by one who has practiced this habit 
for any length of time. Lallemand, the great 
French authority, gives the following: "How- 
ever young the children may be, they get thin, pale 
and irritable, and their features become haggard. 
We notice the sunken eye, the long, cadaverous 
looking countenance, the downcast look, which 
seems to arise from a consciousness in the boy 
that his habits are suspected, and at a later 
period, from the ascertained fact that his virility 
is lost. I wish by no means to assert that every 
boy unable to look another in the face is or has 
beeji a masturbator, but I believe this vice is a 
very frequent cause of timidity. Habitual mas- 
turbators have a dank, moist, cold hand, very 
characteristic of great vital exhaustion ; their 
sleep is short, and most complete marasmus 
comes on. They may gradually waste away if 
the evil passion is not got the better of; nervous 
symptoms set in, such as spasmodic contraction, 
or partial or entire convulsive movements, to- 



256 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

gether with epilepsy, eclampsy, and a species 
of paralysis, accompanied with contractions of 
the limbs." 

The appetite of the masturbator is often quite 
capricious, there is a longing for some unnatural 
food. Jackson, the distinguished water-cure ad- 
vocate, specifies some symptoms that he con- 
siders as almost a sure test if the habit is prac- 
ticed, viz : " A hankering after cloves, cinnamon, 
caraway, mace, and the like." He likewise makes 
this sweeping remark : " I never knew a girl to 
eat lime off the wall, or to chew up her slate 
pencils, who was not to a greater or less extent 
a victim of this practice. I never knew a boy 
who was accustomed to eat lumps of salt without 
anything with it, and in fact I might say who 
was an inordinate eater of salt upon his food, 
who was not or had not been at some period of 
his life a masturbator." 

Mental Symptoms. — The memory is impaired; 
it is more like a sieve than anything else ; reason 
is next partially dethroned. There is not a 
faculty of the mind that is not affected. 

DUTIES OF PARENTS. 

Parents, if you are satisfied that your child 
has commenced this habit, it is your religious 
duty to give the warning. Approach it not as 
you would a criminal, as if some great offense 



RUINOUS HABITS OF YOUTH. 257 

had been committed, but rather look upon it as 
a sufferer, manifest pity rather than scorn. Acton 
says : " I esteem it false delicacy and a wrong, 
that a parent should hesitate to warn his boy 
when, at the most, he can only anticipate, by a 
few days or weeks, the offices of a youthful 
schoolmaster in vice as ignorant of consequences 
as the pupil." 

He further says : " I have no hesitation as 
to the advice I should give to parents in such 
matters. In all cases I would tell them the best 
preventive step to be taken is to watch their 
children, if not actually to warn them against 
what is to be hoped they are ignorant of, and 
to develop their muscular powers by strong 
gymnastic exercises." 

Hygienic Precautions. — The diet should be 
plain and unstimulating. Animal food, salt and 
the various condiments should be used sparingly. 
Sponge bathing, and especially sea bathing, are 
beneficial. Demand early rising. The great 
remedy, however, is to fortify the will against 
further indulgence. 

SPERMATORRHEA. 

This affection is often produced by masturba- 
tion. The popular term by which this disorder 
is known is involuntary nocturnal emissio?is. 
17 



258 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

Symptoms. — Nervous irritability, a dreamy 
state of mind, impaired memory, etc. 

Treatment. — Let the diet be simple and 
mostly vegetable. Take a sitz bath in cold 
water on retiring. Sleep on a mattress, with 
light covering. Abstain from alcoholic stimu- 
lants, tobacco, tea and coffee. Seek refined 
society among the opposite sex. Perform more 
or less muscular labor. 

The following prescription is highly recom- 
mended by Dr. Tanner : " Take camphor, five 
grains ; extract of opium, one grain ; blue mass, 
four grains — mix and divide into two pills, one 
to be taken at bed time." 

Bromide of potassium in fifteen grain doses, 
to be taken at bed time, is a ^ood sedative. 




CHAPTER VIL 



OUR CHILD IS SICK — WHAT IS THE MATTER? 
WHAT TO DO. 




IT requires more skill to diagnose the diseases 
of childhood than those of the adult. The 
child being unable to talk, the only source from 
which the parents or physician can gain any in- 
formation concerning its ailments, is by studying 
the external signs, as manifested by the counte- 
nance, etc. The signs of health should be first 
studied, then all departures from that base-line 
are so many indices of disease. 



26o PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

SIGNS OF HEALTH. 

Condie gives the following pen-picture : " The 
skin is soft, flexible, and of a rosy hue ; the com- 
plexion lively and fresh ; the eye, when attracted 
by any object, has a peculiar quickness and sud- 
denness in its movements, and always more or 
less turned upward beneath the upper lid. The 
countenance, when in repose, exhibits, in the 
earlier stages of infancy, but little or no expres- 
sion, except that of perfect calmness ; but, at a later 
age, it becomes quickly lighted up, smiling and 
animated at the approach of the parents or nurse, 
or when attracted by any pleasing object. The 
surface of the infant is cool ; the abdomen full 
and soft — gentle pressure upon it seeming rather 
to please than to cause the slightest uneasiness. 
The tongue is generally slightly covered with a 
whitish mucus ; the mouth is always moist, and 
the lips fresh colored and often protruding. The 
sleep of a healthy infant is quiet and profound ; 
it awakes from it cheerful and smiling, and soon 
demands food. During the waking hours after, 
at least, the first month or two, it is inclined to 
as much activity as its limbs will permit, and ex- 
hibits a surprising springiness and rapidity in all 
its movements. It delights to be played with 
and carried about, and when old enough, to roll 
and crawl upon the carpet." 



OUR CHILD IS SICK. 26 1 

SPECIAL SIGNS OF DISEASE. 

Most diseases in childhood, as in the adult, 
present many symptoms that are similar ; yet 
nearly every disease has some characteristic 
symptom which, if properly interpreted, isolates 
it from any other affection ; and when considering 
the individual affections, I will note the symp- 
toms that especially designate them. 

HYGIENE OF CHILDHOOD. 

Many mothers are so ignorant of the general 
principles of hygiene necessary to be attended 
to in rearing children that they cannot perform 
the true office of mother. A mother's office is a 
noble one, and to fulfill its duties well requires 
care, patience, and accurate hygienic knoivledge. 

Diet. — Until the child is weaned the mother's 
milk should be its almost entire sustenance. Do 
not be in a hurry about cramming it with 
cracker stuffs, sweetened liquids and grandma's 
herb teas; there is time enough for that after it is 
weaned ; let it enjoy its first year of existence in 
peace. Weaning should be done gradually. 
Wean it first from day nursing, but allow it to 
nurse once or twice in the night, and in a short 
time the mother should refuse it the breast en- 
tirely. After weaning, cow's milk should be its 
principal diet, although at the same time light 
gruels of oatmeal, arrowroot, and other farina- 



262 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

ceous substances, may be administered. When 
the teeth are sufficient to perform mastication, 
then a little more solid diet may be administered. 
Do not be afraid, when it is old enough, to let it 
play in the open air. Let it play in the sunshine 
and in the dirt. Do not try to make fashion- 
able little ladies and gentlemen of your chil- 
dren too quickly. Proper diet, air, exercise, sun- 
light and sleep will establish sure foundations for 
present and future health. 

A WARM BATH. 

A Manual of Nursing, prepared for the 
nurses attached to Bellevue Medical College, 
New York, gives the following sensible advice 
in regard to baths and how to administer them 
to children : " When a child begins to be fretful 
and uneasy, and to manifest some of the first 
signs of disturbance of the health, there are 
many advantages to be gained from putting it 
at once in a warm bath. The temperature of 
the body is very apt to be elevated from a slight 
cause, and the child seems hot and feverish, and 
serious illness is apprehended. The change 
which the warm bath will produce in these 
symptoms is often very great. It lowers the 
temperature, thus quieting the sensitive nerves 
of the skin ; it relieves the pains of colic by 
relaxing muscular spasm, and the child falls into 



OUR CHILD IS SICK. 263 

a calm and restful sleep, and often when it 
awakes all uncomfortable sensations will have 
vanished. Again, if the child has contracted 
any of the eruptive diseases to which young 
children are liable, it will generally be made 
manifest, as the heat and moisture tend to bring 
out the rash." 

The mother's good sense ought to enable her 
to administer the bath properly. The main 
point to be kept in view is to have the water 
warm enough ; the room in which it is given 
should be warm. After the child has been in 
the bath from three to five minutes, it should 
be taken out and wrapped in a warm blanket. 
See that the skin is thoroughly dried and mild 
reaction established by hand rubbing. The 
night gown, properly warmed, should be put on 
and the child put to bed. 

Common affections not requiring the doctor. 

SORE MOUTH.— THRUSH. 

The infant, before it is weaned, is often troubled 
with this affection. The lining membrane of the 
mouth is often quite red, fiery and extremely 
sensitive to the touch. The child is restless, and 
refuses to nurse. If the mouth is examined 
there will be often noticed a czird-Yike exudation, 
appearing at first in the form of white specks or 
patches. These may be confined to only a small 



264 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

surface, or they may cover the whole mucous 
lining, extending even down the whole length 
of the alimentary canal. This form of sore 
mouth, accompanied with exudation, is termed 
thrush, and is peculiar to the infant at the 
breast. 

Aphthous sore mouth resembles very closely 
thrush, but it scarcely ever makes its appearance 
until teething. The causes of thrush may be 
exposure to cold, irritating quality of the milk, 
difficulty in nursing from an over-distended 
breast, too small or imperfect nipples. 

Treatment of Thrush. — Mucilaginous washes, 
of which slippery elm tea is as good as any. Con- 
die recommends the following : Take borax and 
white sugar, equal parts ; pulverize and mix ; 
then drop some of the powder on the tongue. 
In thrush internal remedies are not often given. 
Topical application of the powder above de- 
scribed, and careful attention to hygiene, is 
about all that is required. 

In aphthous sore mouth Prof. Lewis, of New 
York, uses the following : " Take of chlorate 
of potash, one drachm ; honey, one-half ounce ; 
water, two ounces ; a teaspoonful to be given 
every two or three hours. In giving this solu- 
tion it should be allowed to come in contact 
with the affected membrane." 

Dr. Tanner recommends "borax, 120 grains; 



OUR CHILD IS SICK. 265 

glycerine, one ounce ; to be painted over affected 
parts with a camel's hair pencil." A weak solu- 
tion of carbolic acid and glycerine is a nice 
preparation. 

COLIC. 

Children are liable to this affection, and when 
it makes its attack suddenly it is very apt to 
create great alarm in the household. The dis- 
tension of the bowels with flatus is the principal 
cause of the pain, and there is generally no 
organic disease. 

Treatment. — Put the child into a warm bath, 
or apply cloths dipped in warm water to the 
abdomen. Rectal injections of warm water will 
often prove efficacious. If the spasm and pain 
are not relieved by aforesaid treatment, give 
small doses of essence of anise, peppermint, or 
paregoric. Small doses of calcined magnesia 
may be given where there is acidity of stomach. 
Parents should be very careful in the giving of 
opiates in this affection. Costiveness is a very 
common thing in children subject to colic, and 
it should be counteracted by attention to diet 
and enemas of simple warm water. If, after the 
spasm is removed, there is any tenderness over 
the abdomen, inflammation may be setting in, and 
the physician should be sent for immediately. 



266 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

WORMS. 

These were formerly considered the most 
common cause of infantile affections. If any- 
thing was the matter which was not visible, why 
it was worms, of course. It is not well settled 
whether worms are the cause or merely the 
result of certain conditions of the body, and old 
Dr. Rush considered their presence in the 
alimentary canal as beneficial to health. But 
very little importance is attributed to worms 
as a cause of disease at the present time. Dr. 
Eberle says : " Sedentary habits, habitual ex- 
posure to a humid atmosphere, the abundant 
use of fat and farinaceous articles of diet, and of 
fresh milk," are remote causes. Some think 
stigar, if used too freely, is a cause. In regard 
to their origin, cause and effects, our best physi- 
cians differ ; there is still a cloud of mystery 
obscuring this subject. 

Symptoms. — The only decisive symptom, and 
one in which there can be no mistake, is their 
presence in the evacuations. Those signs gen- 
erally regarded as almost certain, are the pale, 
leaden appearance of the countenance, tickling 
of the nose, swollen upper lip, capricious appe- 
tite, dilated pupil, foul breath and general ema- 
ciation, etc. 

Treatment. — Take of santonine, ten grains ; 
white sugar, twenty grains — mix. Divide into 



OUR CHILD IS SICK. 267 

six powders ; give one powder at bed time, to 
be followed in the morning with a small dose 
of castor oil. Ten to fifteen drops of turpentine, 
combined with sugar, given two or three times 
a day, is a favorite with some. After the worms 
are expelled, to prevent their reappearance, 
tonic treatment should be given. Carbonate of 
iron, in live-grain doses every morning, is very 
good. 

CROUP. 

This is quite a common affection in childhood, 
and one that, on account of the suddenness of its 
attack, is the source of great alarm in the 
household. There are two varieties of this 
affection, termed genuine and spasmodic croup. 

Genuine or diphtheritic croup may occur at 
any time between weaning and puberty, and 
many times is the most intractable disease with 
which the doctor has to contend. The mucous 
membrane lining the wind-pipe is the seat of 
the disease. This membrane becomes inflamed, 
and if the affection is not controlled, it becomes 
in a short time coated over with a plastic fibri- 
nous substance, which accumulates many times 
in large quantities and completely closes the air 
passage, death resulting from suffocation. 

Symptoms. — The child at first manifests all 
the symptoms of a cold — sneezing, coughing, 
hoarseness, fever is/mess. The cough is of a 



268 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

ringing, brassy nature. There is what is termed 
a crowing inspiration. The attack may be grad- 
ual, and then again it may be sudden. It is not 
contagious, but many times more than one, and 
perhaps all the children will have it in quick 
succession. This is quite a fatal disease if it 
does not receive proper and prompt treatment. 

Treatment. — As soon as the child becomes 
hoarse and begins to cough, and especially if it 
is predisposed to this affection, put it into a 
warm bath, or foment the chest with cloths 
dipped in warm water, as hot as it can be borne. 
See that the temperature of the room is agree- 
ably warm and uniform ; give at the same time 
the following: Wine of ipecac, three drachms; 
syrup of tolu, five drachms ; mucilage of gum 
arabic one ounce — mix; give a teaspoonful 
every hour or so. If nausea or vomiting result, 
so mzich the better. 

If the attack comes on suddenly give on the 
start a mild emetic. Hive syrup given in small 
and repeated doses until vomiting results, is as 
good as anything. 

SPASMODIC OR FALSE CROUP. 

This form of . the affection is generally un- 
attended with fever ; more sudden in its attacks. 
Watson gives a good pen picture of it, as 
follows : " The child is seized all of a sudden, 



OUR CHILD IS SICK. 269 

roused perhaps from a sleep, by a catch or inter- 
ruption of its breathing, more or less complete. 
It strives and struggles to inspire, but is appar- 
ently unable to do so." The cause of this affec- 
tion is a spasmodic closure of the glottis, or 
opening of the wind pipe. 

Treatment. — About all that is required is a 
mild emetic on the start, a warm bath, and hot 
applications to the throat. This form is gener- 
ally of short duration. Nauseating doses of 
hive syrup may be given, or syrup of ipecac 
may be given in 15 to 20-drop doses to a child 
two years old, and should be repeated in ten or 
fifteen minutes if the spasm is not relieved. 

DIPHTHERIA. 

This is a constitutional affection, in which 
there is a marked tendency to debility. It shows 
itself locally by an inflammation of the throat, 
on the lining membrane of which soon appear 
more or less patches of a whitish exudation. 

Hygienic Care. — Immerse the feet in as 
warm water as can be borne. Hot fomentations 
to the throat. Quench the thirst with ice-cold 
slippery elm tea. 

Treatment. — Prof. Lewis' favorite remedy is 
as follows : Tincture of chloride of iron, one 
drachm ; chlorate of potash, one drachm ; simple 



27O PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

syrup, two ounces — mix; give a teaspoonful 
every two or three hours. • 

For a wash or o-arode in the first stages, Con- 
die says " equal parts of good vinegar and 
water " is as good as anything. 

The following wash may be used for the 
throat : Fluid carbolic acid, one-half drachm ; 
glycerine and water, one ounce each — mix. If 
it irritates too much, add more water. 

In the last stages, if the debility is great, 
stimulants may be resorted to. 

This a disease with strong fatal tendencies, 
and a good physician should be sent for if there 
is not a favorable change soon after using the 
above remedies. 

WETTING THE BED. 

This affection is apparently of a trivial na- 
ture, but many times it is beyond the power of 
the parents or physician to effect a cure ; and I 
even know of children being punished for this 
habit, as it is termed ; you might as well punish 
them for having a hare-Yip or the mumps. 

Cause. — Partial paralysis of the neck of the 
bladder is the most common ; although irritabil- 
ity of the bladder and highly acrid urine, and 
pin worms in the rectum, may produce it. This 
disease is apt to effect ptmy children, rather than 
those of robitst habits. 

Hygienic Care. — Do not let the child drink 



OUR CHILD IS SICK. 2 J I 

much after supper. See that the bladder is 
emptied on retiring. Awaken the child in the 
night, in order that the bladder may be emptied. 
The bed should be a mattress ; the covering 
should be light. Child should lie on the back. 
Treatment. — Give a sitz bath in cold water. 
Two drops of tincture of chloride of iron in a 
tablespoonful of water, is a good tonic. If the 
urine is high colored with reddish sediment, give 
small doses of bicarbonate of potash in slippery- 
elm tea. 

DIARRHCEA. 

In simple forms of this affection, where there is 
little or no fever, give in the first place a full 
dose of castor oil, so that all irritating excitants 
in the bowels may be removed, and then use the 
following favorite remedy of Prof. J. Lewis Smith, 
viz : Paregoric and tincture of catechu, one 
drachm each; chalk mixture, one ounce — -mix. 
Give one teaspoonful every two to four hours to 
a child one year old. If the abdomen is dis- 
tended, and is tender to the touch, it shows there 
is already, or a tendency to, inflammation, and if 
such is the case, foment the bowels with cloths 
dipped in hot tea, as hot as it can be borne. 
The cloths should be frequently changed, and a 
piece of oiled silk placed over them, so as to 
confine the heat and moisture. Quench the 
thirst with pieces of ice placed in the mouth 
and allowed to dissolve. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



EVERYDAY EMERGENCIES, AND WHAT TO DO 
ON THE SPOT. 

THIS is a world of accidents; the old and 
young, rich and poor, learned and unlettered, 
are liable. In every village, neighborhood, and 
I might say household, each day, there is some 




casualty which requires prompt treatment. Many 
lives are sacrificed daily on account of the lack 
of pi'actical knowledge. Send for a good phy- 
sician or surgeon when there is cause for alarm, 
but if nothing is done until his arrival, it may be 
too late — time is the essence of cure. 



EVERYDAY EMERGENCIES. 2 J 3 

HEMORRHAGE. 

There is nothing that will excite the bystand- 
ers more than profuse bleeding. When the 
blood is emitted in a steady stream, and of a dark- 
bluish tint, a vein has been severed ; when it 
spurts forth in jets, corresponding to the beating 
of the heart, and is of a bright scarlet tint, an 
artery has been severed. I will present a few 
physiological facts in regard to circulation, be- 
fore describing what should be done. 

The blood flows through the arteries from the 
heart to extremities ; but in the veins, the mo- 
tion is in the opposite direction. The main 
arteries and veins, distributed to the upper and 
lower extremities, pass along the inside ; they 
are placed there for protection ; the muscles and 
bone really perform the office of a shield. The 
arteries are deep seated, and are not as liable to 
injury as the veins, many of which are quite 
superficial. With these few hints we will now 
see what must be done : i. Cold water should be 
continually applied ; pressure, directly to the 
wound, is sometimes effectual. If one of the 
larger arteries is severed, secure pressure over 
the arterial trunk, and the pressure should be be- 
tween the incision and the heart ; but, if it is a 
severed vein, the pressure should be between the 
incision and the extremity. To illustrate: If the 



2 74 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

artery severed is distributed to either extremity, 
in the first place take a handkerchief or towel 
and tie a knot in the center, and then place it 
around the limb, so that the central knot will be 
on the inside of said limb ; tie the towel, and 
then insert a cane or broom-handle between the 
towel and skin ; everything now is ready for 
action ; give the cane several twists, and the 
bleeding is controlled. If the artery is a large 
one, it will have to be ligated, which requires 
the skill of the surgeon. The position of limb 
should be observed ; it should be elevated as 
much as possible. In all cases of hemorrhage 
from internal organs, as the lungs, stomach, etc., 
drink ice-cold water ; apply cold compresses to 
the chest ; send for a physician at once. 

SYNCOPE — FAINTING. 

The principal cause of fainting is, too little 
blood is sent to the brain, and this may result 
either from loss of blood or from anything 
that interferes with the action of the heart. 
Generally, when any one faints, the bystanders 
will crowd around, and the patient's head is 
propped up with pillows ; this is all wrong. 
The true and common sense, if not common, treat- 
ment should be as follows : Carry the patient 
where there is pure air and plenty of it ; a 
recumbent position should be secured, with the 



EVERYDAT EMERGENCIES. 2J$ 

head, if possible, lower than the rest of the 
body ; dash cold water in the face ; unloose the 
clothing about the chest. 

FITS. 

Place the patient in a recumbent position, with 
head slightly elevated. Do not try to restrain 
the muscular action ; only see that the patient, 
in the various contortions, is not brought in 
contact with anything that will injure him or 
her, as the case may be. Unloose the clothing 
and see there is free access of pure air. Secure 
good circulation in the extremities, either by 
warmth or friction. Send for a physician at 
once. The different kinds of what are termed 
fits, viz., apoplectic, epileptic, hysteric and catalep- 
tic, are produced by different causes, and require 
different treatment, which should be intrusted 
to an educated physician. The directions we 
have given are those to be observed before the 
doctor arrives. 

DROWNING. 

Death results from at least two causes : first, 
exclusion of air from the lungs, and second, loss 
of heat. 

Many have the erroneous idea that water 
passes into the lungs when a person is drowned, 
and that is the reason that many times the per- 



2/6 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

son drowned is dangled in the air, head down- 
ward, with hopes of emptying the bronchial 
tubes and air cells so that air can enter. A 
person, in drowning, is constantly expiring air, 
but nothing is inhaled, on account of a spas- 
modic closure of the glottis. 

What to do. — Place the patient in a reclining 
position, with head slightly elevated ; remove 
the wet clothes and then apply warmth ; see 
that the mouth and nostrils are freed from any- 
thing that would prevent ingress of air ; then 
resort to artificial respiration, as follows : Place 
the patient prone (face downward) on a blanket 
or mattress placed on the floor; pressure then 
being made on the back would naturally produce 
an expiratory effort ; the patient then being 
rolled on the side, the elasticity of the ribs, by 
enlarging the capacity of the chest, would pro- 
duce an inspiratory effort. 

Death from strangulation and the inhalation 
of poisonous gases, especially the carbonic acid, 
likewise results from deficient aeration of the 
blood. 

SHOCK OF INJURY. 

A fall, a blow, a crushed limb, a severe burn 
or scald, etc., often produces a nervous depres- 
sion, which is popularly termed a shock. There 
are two kinds of shocks ; one is where there is 
more fright than bodily injury, more scare than 



EVERTDAT EMERGENCIES. 2 J J 

hurt ; this form is termed a mental shock, and 
requires little treatment, except it be to lull the 
fears. Physical shocks are often attended with 
the following symptoms : " The patient," says 
Dr. Miller, of Edinburgh, " is pale, shivering, 
cold, breathing rapidly, with an alarmed ex- 
pression, and almost pulseless." 

What shall be done? — Place the patient 
in a recumbent position, with the head, for a 
short time, lower than the rest of the body. 
Friction and warmth should be applied immedi- 
ately. If the patient can swallow, mild stimu- 
lants should be given internally ; hot teas or 
soups may be given at first, and if reaction does 
not soon appear, then resort to something 
stronger — wine or whisky. Great care should 
be exercised in giving liquids, lest they pass 
into the glottis. 

Camphor and ammonia should be applied to 
the nostrils, but care must be observed in their 
use. In cases of this kind, in olden time, the 
first resort was to the lancet. Science of to-day 
teaches better. 

Galvanic electricity might be applied with 
benefit, but it is not always available. 

SERPENT BITES. 

The first and important indication to be ful- 
filled is to prevent the absorption of the poison. 



278 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

A ligature should be thrown around the limb 
between the part bitten and the heart, and the 
limb should be thoroughly corded, and in this 
way the return circulation will be partially ob- 
structed. In the next place, excise, if it is 
possible, the part bitten. Favor profuse bleed- 
ing by pouring warm water on the wound. If 
some one present should apply his mouth to the 
wound and by suction increase the flow, it would 
be advantageous. No ill effects would be pro- 
duced in the person so doing if the membrane 
lining the mouth is entire, not abraded. Inter- 
nal treatment should be stimulating ; any of the 
alcoholic stimulants will suffice. Whisky inter- 
nally is considered by some to be a specific. 
Give it freely; the patient will bear twice as 
much as he would in a state of health and still 
manifest no external effects. 

POISONS AND THE ANTIDOTES. 

When any poison is taken in fatal doses, 
about the best, quickest and most available 
remedy is milk-warm water. Have the patient 
drink immediately all that is possible, if it is a 
quart. It acts as follows: The poison is diluted, 
more slowly absorbed, and free vomiting is soon 
effected. The emetic effect is hastened by 
giving at least a tablespoonful of ground mus- 
tard stirred in a little water. If the following 



EVERYDAY EMERGENCIES. 



279 



antidotes are handy they should be given first, 
and then the warm water and mustard imme- 
diately afterward. 



POISONS. 

Acids. 
Nitri: acid (aqua fortis), 
Sulpiuric acid ( oil of vitriol '), 
Oxalic acid, carbolic acid, 
Acelic and all acids. 

Alkalies. 
Caustic potash, quick lime, 
Lienor ammonia, 
Salts of tartar, and all alkalies. 

Corrosive sublimate, 
Vermilion, redprecipitate, and 

all mercurial compounds. 
Tartar emetic and all anti- 

monial compounds. 

Arsenic, paris green, and all 
arsenical compounds. 

Red lead, white lead, 
Sugar of lead, and all lead 
compounds. 

Blue vitriol, verdigris, and 
all copper compounds. 

White vitriol. 
Chromate of potash. 



ANTIDOTES. 

Alkalies; and the most 
available would be soda, such 
as is used in cooking, soap- 
suds, magnesia, powdered 
chalk, weak lye. 

Acids ; and the most avail- 
able is vinegar. Oils are also 
antidotes : sweet, linseed, cas- 
tor, melted lard. 

The white of eggs ; flour, 
stirred in water, given in the 
form of a thin paste. 

Strong green tea, or any 
astringent liquid. 

Olive oil ; flour and water ; 
powdered iron rust. 

Epsom or Glauber salts. 



Same as the antidotes for 
mercurial compounds. 

Same as for copper com- 
pounds. 

Same as for lead com- 
pounds. 



280 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

POISONS. ANTIDOTES. 

Opium and its compounds, Coffee; belladonna; and 

Laudanum, paregoric. when great prostration exists, 

carbonate of ammonia and 

electricity. 

Nux vomica, strychnia. Chloroform, and camphor. 

Belladonna Lime water ; infusion of 

(deadly night shade), galls; green tea; opium sas- 

Stramonium. safras. 



The above are the principal poisons either 
taken accidentally or suicidally, but whether any 
of the antidotes specified are or are not given, 
be sure that there is free emesis produced by 
the warm water, as described at first, and after 
the vomiting- the administration of coolino- mi- 
cilaginous drinks, such as slippery elm tea, gum- 
arabic water, is advisable, as they quiet the irri- 
tation that might possibly terminate in conges- 
tion and inflammation of the stomach. 

The constitutional symptoms must be care- 
fully watched, and combated by the remedies 
as if they originated from other causes. In all 
cases of poisoning it is advisable to send for a 
physician, as it is hard to prognose the dangers 
ahead. 

BURNS AND SCALDS. 

These may be quite superficial, producing sim- 
ple redness, or perhaps vesication, or they may be 



BVERTDAT EMERGENCIES. 28 I 

so deep as to result in sloughing. In treating 
these affections, constitutional and local remedies 
must be used. The nervous depression or 
shock that accompanies severe burns we have 
already considered. Stimulants must be given 
sparingly, for as soon as reaction is established 
there is danger of too much excitement, and the 
sympathetic effects produced on the lining mem- 
brane of the lungs and stomach are to be coun- 
teracted. 

Local Treatment. — -Immerse the part in cold 
water immediately, and keep it there for some 
time. See that the water is kept ice cold, and 
as soon as the part is taken from the water,, en- 
velop it in cotton wadding, so as to protect it 
from the air. 

Dr. Gross recommends coating the part with 
white-lead paint, such as is used in the arts, and 
then envelop it in the wadding. Lint soaked 
in a solution of sweet oil, six parts, carbolic acid, 
one part, applied to burned surface, is highly 
recommended. If a large surface is burned or 
scalded, and there is great nervous depression, 
cold applications would not be so appropriate as 
warm, as the continuous application of cold 
would tend to prolong the shock. If vesicles 
are formed they should be punctured with care. 
If there is tendency to sloughing, as there always 
is in deep burns, it should be facilitated by the 



262 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

application of linseed poultices, frequently re- 
newed. 

If the clothes are on fire and there is no water 
near, envelop the patient in a blanket, buffalo 
robe, or piece of carpet, and thereby smother 
the flame. Whatever is done must be done 
quickly. 

LIGHTNING STROKE. 

Lightning produces death, as a rule, by its 
action on the brain and nervous system, and 
when life is not extinct, the symptoms are quite 
similar to that of concussion. Many times the 
death is the result of the nervous shock, and 
the body shows no external injury. The treat- 
ment is same as that given for shock. Electri- 
city applied works wonders in cases of great 
prostration, and although it smatters a little of 
the old maxim — " the hair of the dog that bites 
you will cure the bite" — yet, really, in many 
cases it is a fine therapeutic agent — a nerve 
stimulant. 

FROST BITE. 

In cold regions this is a common emergency. 
Long exposure to cold produces giddiness, dim- 
ness of sight, feebleness, and finally profound 
sleep. The indication to be fulfilled by treat- 
ment is to restore the circulation, but it must be 
done very cautiously, for fear that when reaction 
is secured it may run so high that it is uncon- 



EVERT DAT EMERGENCIES. 283 

trollable, and violent inflammation and sloughing 
will be the result. Place the patient in a cool 
room and rub the body with snow. If there is 
a state of lethargy, mild internal stimulants may 
be cautiously, given. If only a small part of the 
body is frost bitten, the part affected should be 
immersed in ice-cold water. We might compare 
the circulation of the blood to a steel spring ; the 
excessive cold, like a weight, has pressed down 
the spring to the lowest point ; now the applica- 
tion of snow or cold water lightens the weight 
so gradually that the spring slowly regains its 
original position. If the temperature has been 
so low as to break the spring, death of the part 
is the result, and when such is the case, warm 
linseed meal poultices should be applied to favor 
the separation of the dead from the living. 

SPRAINS AND BRUISES. 

We are liable to sprain the ankle, wrist, or in 
fact any joint, every time we move, but what to 
do no two agree. Angle worm oil, skunk's fat, 
woodchuck's grease, powdered horse warts, lini- 
ments by the hundreds, are still in this nine- 
teenth century regarded as specifics. What do 
science and common sense teach ? When a sprain 
or strain of any joint is produced, it is nothing 
more or less than a stretching or partial lacera- 
tion of the ligaments. The indication to be 



284 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

fulfilled is to guard against the congestion and 
inflammation which will soon set in, attended 
with their usual symptoms : swelling, pain, ten- 
derness, etc. Rest of the part should be first 
secured, and then cold applications. The cold 
should be continuously applied and kept up for 
some time, but after all tendencies to inflamma- 
tion have been averted, then there should be a 
gradual change to warm appliances — cloths 
dipped in warm water, or what is perhaps still 
better, warm hop tea. Simple water at the right 
temperature is all that is required until all the 
pain and excitement have been controlled. To 
remove the passive swelling and to restore the 
part fully to a healthy state, friction and band- 
aging the parts is beneficial, and in this last 
stage only should stimulating embrocations be 
used. 

The application of strong liniments in the 
commencement would aggravate all the symp- 
toms, and all friction to the part should be de- 
layed until late. 

The following liniment may be used in last 
stages. Take aqua ammonia, one-half ounce ; 
sweet oil, one ounce ; tincture of camphor, one 
ounce ; laudanum, one ounce ; chloroform, one- 
half ounce. Shake well before using. 



EVERYDAY EMERGENCIES. 285 

SUNSTROKE. 

Remove the patient to a cool, airy place in the 
shade, then combat symptoms. If the circula- 
tion is vigorous, face flushed, head hot, and ex- 
tremities cool, apply ice-cold water to the head, 
and let its application be continuous. The ice 
cap, composed of small fragments of ice placed 
between oiled silk, would be better ; hot applica- 
tions to the feet, either mustard or bottles filled 
with hot water. If on the other hand the pulse 
is scarcely perceptible, and there is sense of re- 
laxation and exhaustion, bathe the body in warm 
water. Ammonia and camphor should be in- 
haled, and if the patient can swallow mild stim- 
ulants in the shape of whisky, wine or brandy, 
they should be administered. 



T 



CHAPTER IX. 

HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. 

POULTICES. 

HE office of a poultice is to impart warmth 
and moisture. The best material to be 
used is linseed meal. Stir enough of the meal 
in boiling water until a thick mush is formed ; 
spread the mush on a cloth in a layer of one- 
third of an inch thick, then cover it with some 
gauze-like substance to prevent its adhering to 
the parts. After the poultice is applied to the 
parts, cover it with oiled silk, so as to retain 
the heat and moisture. 

BEEF TEA. 

This nourishing liquid, often prescribed by 
the physician in low forms of fever, is made as 
follows: Put a quarter of a pound of lean beef 
into a pint and a half of water, and allow it to 
boil for a quarter of an hour ; flavor to suit 
taste. 

ESSENCE OF BEEF. 

This fluid extract of beef, which is more 
nourishing than beef tea, and hence can be given 
in smaller doses, is made as follows : Put a 



HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. 28 J 

quarter of a pound of beef, cut into thin slices, 
into a wide mouthed porter bottle, then cork 
tightly ; place the bottle in a kettle of cold 
water, which is then heated until it boils. The 
bottle should remain in the boiling water for an 
hour or so, then the liquid in the bottle is de- 
canted and flavored to suit taste. 

WINE WHEY. 

This is both nourishing and stimulating, and 
is often prepared for the sick where there is 
great debility. It is made as follows : 

Add to a pint of milk, as soon as it has 
reached the boiling point, as much sherry wine 
as will coagulate it ; strain, sweeten and flavor. 

HOW TO TAKE A SITZ BATH. 

Miss Harriet N. Austin, in her pamphlet on 
baths and how to take them, gives the following 
directions : " The Sitz Bath may be taken in a 
common-sized wash-tub — though we have tubs 
made on purpose which are higher at the back, 
— with so much water as nearly to fill the tub 
when the person sits down. The person should 
remove all his clothing, except his shoes and 
stockings, and be well wrapped up in his bath 
with a comfortable. Many times it is desirable 
to undress the feet also and take a warm foot 
bath while a tepid sitz bath is taken. In this 



288 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

case the feet should be dipped into cool water 
when taken out of the warm bath. A cool wet 
cloth or cap should be worn on the head. This 
bath is continued from five to ninety minutes to 
meet conditions, though the usual time is from 
fifteen to thirty minutes." 

We have prescribed this form of bath many 
times in this volume, and I consider it, if 
properly taken, a fine therapeutical agent ; and 
although I graduated in the calomel, ipecac, colo- 
cynth y big pill — regular school — yet I can 
secure ofttimes quicker and more favorable re- 
sults from the use of water than I can from any 
drug proper. When I prescribe water, I do not 
mean necessarily cold water, hot water, warm 
water, but water at that temperature that will 
fulfill the indications. If I could have but one 
therapeutical agent, water would be my choice. 

WET SHEET PACKING. 

Dr. Tanner gives the following advice in 
regard to its proper administration : 

" The patient is closely enveloped in a sheet 
which has been dipped in cold or tepid water 
and well wrung out. Or a long towel is wrung 
out of tepid water and applied along the whole 
length of the back, while another similarly pre- 
pared is laid over the chest and abdomen. In 
either case the patient is then carefully wrapped 



HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. 25Q. 

in a blanket, covered with three or more blank- 
ets, and a down coverlet then tucked over all. 
The patient should remain thus for thirty, forty- 
five or sixty minutes, lying on his side or in a 
semi-recumbent position, the duration being 
timed by the sedative effect produced. On 
arising, the body should be thoroughly sponged 
with tepid water, and dried as soon as possible 
by enveloping the patient in a dry sheet. After 
the moisture is absorbed by the sheet, a vigorous 
reaction should be secured either by hand rubbing 
or flesh brush. While the patient is in the pack, 
cold should be applied to the head and warmth 
to the feet." 

DRIPPING SHEET. 

Tanner says : " The patient stands up in an 
empty bath, while the attendant placed at his 
back sudenly envelops him in a sheet dipped in 
cold water. The surface of the body is rapidly 
rubbed by the servant's fiat hands for some three 
minutes, until the bather is in a glow, when a 
dry sheet is quickly substituted for the wet one 
and the rubbing continued. The whole process 
should be over in five or six minutes." 



CHAPTER X. 



COMMON DISORDERS, AND WHAT TO DO- 
ERYSIPELAS. 

ERYSIPELAS is a diffused inflammation of 
the skin. The part affected is swollen, 
painful, and of a deep red color. No part of the 




body is exempt from an attack of this disease. 
In England, 2,000 die annually with this affection. 
Internally, the following may be taken : Tinc- 
ture of chloride of iron, two drachms ; glycerine, 



COMMON DISORDERS. 29 1 

four drachms ; compound tincture of cardamom, 
one ounce ; water sufficient to make eight ounces 
— mix. Take a tablespoonful every three hours. 

External appliances are beneficial. The fol- 
lowing have their advocates : Carbolic acid, 
twenty grains ; water and glycerine, one ounce 
each. 

The following may be tried : Sugar of lead, 
one scruple ; laudanum, one-half ounce ; water, 
one pint. Apply to parts. 

The inflammation may be prevented from 
spreading by penciling the adjacent sound skin 
with the tincture of iodine. 

ARMY ITCH. 

Besides attending to the general rules of hy- 
giene, especially those of bathing, the following 
may be applied externally : Take iodide of sul- 
phur, one scruple ; lard, one ounce. 

WHOOPING COUGH. 

As I did not speak of this disease when con- 
sidering the diseases of childhood, I will speak of 
it now. It is not necessary to dwell on the 
symptoms ; they are too familiar. 

Treatment. — Besides seeing that the clothing 
is sufficiently warm, and that light, nourishing 
food and mucilaginous drinks are administered. 

The following prescription is a favorite with 



292 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

the noted London physician, Dr. Tanner : White 
vitriol, eight grains ; extract of belladonna, two 
grains ; water, four ounces — mix. A table- 
spoonful three times a day for a child three years 
of age. 

Syrup of ipecac, in nauseating doses, is good 
where the bronchial tubes are loaded with mucus, 

BOILS AND CARBUNCLES. 

Science would say poultice until suppuration, 
then let there be free incisions. Painting the 
parts affected with tincture of iodine in the early 
stages is advocated by some to prevent pus being 
formed. 

EPILEPTIC FITS. 

Bromide of ammonium, in five-grain doses, ad- 
ministered in simple water, before each meal, 
comes the nearest to a specific of anything. If 
the cause of this disorder can be determined 
(which generally is impossible), it should be re- 
moved. 

RICKETS. 

In this disease the bones are deficient in earthy 
salts, hence the bones are soft and flexible. 
Scrofulous children are more subject to this dis- 
order than any other. Besides strict attention 
to general habits, clothing, bathing, etc., partic- 
ular attention to diet should be given. Milk, 
raw eggs, meat diet, is recommended. Phos- 



COMMON DISORDERS. 293 

phate of lime or iron in small doses should be 
administered internally. 

CHRONIC NASAL CATARRH. 

This disease is quite common, and is the result 
of frequent colds. At first the mucous lining is 
acutely inflamed, but in a short time a chronic 
inflammation affects the whole lining. There is 
an uneasiness and stuffiness of the nose, and 
after a time there is a very fetid discharge, which 
is sometimes accompanied with blood. 

Treatment. — Iodide of potassium, in three- 
grain doses, to be taken before each meal and on 
retiring, is recommended. Use as an injection 
up the nostrils, once or twice a day, the follow- 
ing: Iodine, two grains; iodide of potassium, 
four grains ; water, four ounces. 

The following is used as a snuff: Chlorate of 
potash, fifteen grains ; white sugar, two drachms. 
Subnitrate of bismuth, used as a snuff, has its 
advocates. 

CHRONIC SKIN DISEASE. 

The following lotion effects cures after every- 
thing else fails : Take sulphite of soda, two 
ounces ; glycerine, four ounces ; water, sufficient 
to make a pint. Apply to parts affected twice 
a day. 



294 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

RHEUMATISM. 

J. M. Da Costa, M.D., recommends the follow- 
ing : " Bromide of ammonium, one-half ounce ; 
tincture of orange peel, one-half ounce ; water, 
two and one-half ounces — mix. A dessert 
spoonful to be taken every three hours." 

Foment the parts with cloths dipped in hop 
tea, as hot as can be borne. 

A GOOD LINIMENT, FOR MAN OR BEAST. 

Take chloroform, one half ounce ; aqua am- 
monia, one-half ounce; sweet oil, one ounce; 
laudanum and tincture of camphor, one-half 
ounce each — mix. Use as any liniment. 

A GOOD COUGH SYRUP. 

Take hive syrup, two ounces ; syrup of wild 
cherry, one ounce; syrup of tolu, one-half 
ounce; paregoric, one-half ounce — mix. Give 
a teaspoonful every hour or two. 

TO PURIFY THE BLOOD. 

Besides observing the hygiene, pertaining to 
diet, bathing, etc., which is all important, take 
the following: 

Take compound fluid extract of stillingia and 
fluid extract of sarsaparilla, two ounces each ; 
iodide of potassium, two drachms ; simple syrup 



COMMON DISORDERS. 295 

and sherry wine, two ounces each — mix. One- 
half tablespoonful to be taken before each meal. 

CHILBLAINS. 

Dr. Fox, of London, uses the following : " Oil 
of turpentine and tincture of aconite, one ounce 
each. Use as a lotion." Avoid exposing hands 
or feet when cold to the heat ; to relieve the 
itching, glycerine should be applied to parts 
acutely inflamed. 

SORE EYES. 

When the conjunctiva or lining membrane of 
the lids and ball of the eye is acutely inflamed — 
is red, fiery and sensitive to the light — the 
patient should remain in a dark room, and 
bathe the eye frequently with cold water. Ice- 
cold slippery elm tea is soothing. 

The following lotion, to be applied to the 
eyes every two or three hours, is highly praised 
by Dr. Lawson, of London : 

Take alum, three grains ; white vitriol, one 
grain; distilled water, one ounce — mix. The 
free use of Epsom salts internally is beneficial. 

CHRONIC SORE EYES. 

The following is beneficial : Take white vitriol, 
two grains ; sulphate of morphia, one grain ; dis- 
tilled water, one ounce — mix. Bathe the eye 



296 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

and allow a few drops to enter. A good house- 
hold remedy is fresh milk dropped into the eye. 

TAPE-WORM SPECIFIC. 

The flowers of Kooso, in the form of a 
powder, are considered a sure cure. Put one- 
half ounce of the flowers, powdered, into a pint 
of warm water and allow it to stand for fifteen 
minutes, then stir it up and take the whole in 
two or three draughts at short intervals. If it 
does not operate on the bowels give a good 
cathartic, of which castor oil is the best. 

BLEEDING AT THE NOSE. 

Although generally this is a trivial affection, 
yet there are cases where the life is imperiled 
by the profuse hemorrhage. Many times, how- 
ever, especially in apoplectic subjects, the bleed- 
ing is beneficial. 

To stop the bleeding, the patient should sit 
upright, all constrictions about the neck should 
be loosened. Patient should hold both arms 
above the head, and cold should be applied over 
the nose and forehead, and to the back of the 
neck. Astringent liquids, sometimes, are in- 
jected up the nostrils. 

BRONCHOCELE— GOITRE. 

This is an enlargement of the thyroid gland 
which envelops the front and upper part of the 



COMMON DISORDERS. 29 J 

windpipe. Tanner recommends the following 
ointment, to be used on the part : Red iodide of 
mercury, eight grains ; simple ointment, one 
ounce — mix. 

SCALD HEAD, RINGWORM AND BARBER'S ITCH. 

These three affections are the result of certain 
parasites that infest the skin ; hence the common 
sense treatment would be first to destroy the 
parasite, which can be effected by using the 
following lotion : Sulphurous acid, one-half 
ounce; glycerine, one ounce — mix and apply to 
the affected parts, then treat the disease accord- 
ing to general principles. 

ACNE— PIMPLES ON THE FACE. 

Particular attention should be devoted to 
hygiene, especially bathing. 

The following ointment may be used : Iodide 
of sulphur, ten grains ; simple ointment, one 
ounce. 

BED SORES — HOW TO CURE AND PREVENT. 

Particular attention to cleanliness should be 
observed. Rubbing the back with alcohol one 
part, water two parts, will tend to harden the 
skin. Air cushions, properly adjusted, will not 
only prevent, but will also give great relief 
where they do exist. 



298 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

ASTHMA. 

This disorder results either from a partial 
constriction of the bronchial tubes, or from the 
excessive amount of mucus thrown off by the 
mucous lining. Smoking stramonium leaves 
will relax the spasm. 

Dr. Tanner says he has succeeded with the fol- 
lowing, when everything else has failed : Iodide 
of potassium, three to five grains ; aromatic 
spirits of ammonia, forty drops ; tincture of 
belladonna, five to fifteen drops ; compound 
tincture of Peruvian bark, one drachm ; pepper- 
mint water, one and one-half ounces. The 
whole to be taken three times a day. 

CHAPPED HANDS. 

This disorder is produced by various causes, 
among which the following is prominent : im- 
perfect drying of the hands after washing. 

Dust the part affected with bismuth or the 
oxide of zinc, or apply the mild citrine oint- 
ment. 

SORE LIPS. 

Apply carbolic acid, one part; glycerine thirty 
parts. 

TO REMOVE DANDRUFF. 

Dandruff are minute white scales or scurf. 
They may be thrown off from any part of the 
body, but especially the scalp. 



COMMON DISORDERS. 299 

The following is highly recommended as a 
lotion : Borax, one drachm ; glycerine, one 
ounce ; elder-flower water, sufficient to make 
eight ounces. 

FOR DYSPEPSIA. 

Take compound tincture of gentian, two 
ounces; tincture of rhubarb, two ounces — mix; 
take a teaspoonful before each meal. 

GARGLE FOR SORE THROAT. 

Take chlorate of potash, one-half ounce, 
water six ounces ; use as a gargle. 

NEURALGIA. 

In the west, malaria is a common cause, 
although none of the symptoms of ague are 
present ; and for these cases small doses of 
quinine, if given for a length of time, are bene- 
ficial. Two grains of quinine, three times a day, 
before each meal, should be given. 

As an external application to the part affected, 
Dr. Hammond recommends tincture of aconite. 
Inhalation of chloroform is beneficial. 

EAR ACHE. 

This affection is sometimes the result of in- 
flammation of the ear from the presence of foreign 
bodies in the external opening; when such, re- 
move the cause. 



300 PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

When the ear ache is more of a neuralgia 
than anything else, blisters, applied back of the 
ear. Cotton wool saturated with laudanum may 
be inserted in the external opening. Syringing 
the ear with milk — warm water, is always bene- 
ficial. Steam from a decoction of poppy heads, 
allowed to pass into the ear, is always soothing. 
The old lady's application of the boiled bulb of 
the onion to the external ear is strictly scientific. 

INGROWING OF THE NAIL. 

Inflammation and ulceration of the side of the 
toe is produced by the margin of the nail being 
pressed into the flesh. This is ofttimes a very 
annoying and painful affection. 

Treatment. — Nail should be cut off square 
instead of down the inner and outer sides. 
Scrape side of the nail very thin. Soak the 
toe in as warm water as can be borne ; afterward 
insert a pellet of cotton wool saturated in glycer- 
ine, twenty parts ; carbolic acid, one part ; so as 
to separate the nail from the ulcer. 

TO REMOVE WARTS. 

Dr. Thomas recommends the following : Chro- 
mic acid, sixty grains ; water, four fluid drachms ; 
to be applied locally. 



COMMON DISORDERS. 3 QI 

CORNS. 

This affection is the result of undue pressure, 
from which arises an increased thickness of the 
cuticle, and enlargement of the papillse of the 
true skin. Many times pus will be formed under 
the papillse, and until it is allowed to escape 
there will exist the most severe lancinating pains. 

Cure. — The first thing to be done is to wear 
a larger boot or shoe. Take a small piece of 
soft buckskin and cut a hole in it, and place it 
so the corn will be in the opening. Soaking the 
part affected in strong soap suds, will soften 
the cuticle so that it may be easily removed. 
Do not apply caustics. Use common sense in 
their place. 

HEARTBURN. 

This is a distressing burning sensation of the 
stomach, produced by imperfect digestion. 

Subnitrate of bismuth, one drachm ; carbonate 
of magnesia, one drachm ; to be divided into ten 
powders, one to be taken before each meal. 
Abstain from eating indigestible articles, and be 
regular in the time of eating. Get up from the 
table a little hungry rather than eat too much. 

DISINFECTANTS FOR THE SICK ROOM. 

The best to be used is carbolic acid one part 
to thirty parts of water, sprinkled on the floor, 
or a sponge saturated in the solution and placed 
in a saucer in the sick room is well enough. 



APPENDIX. 



(See Journey of the Sperm, page 50.) 




BASE OF THE BLADDER AND THE ATTACHED 
ORGANS. 

i. Base of the Bladder; 2. Line of Reflection of Perito- 
neum; 3. Triangular Space; 4. Vas Deferans; 5. Vas De- 
ferans Dissected; 6. Vesicular Seminalis ; 7, 7. Ureters; 9. 
Right Ejaculatory Duct ; 10. Urethra; n. Prostate Gland. 



304 



APPENDIX. 




APPENDIX. 



305 



(See page 48.) 




VERTICAL SECTION OF THE TESTIS. 



1. Vas Deferans; 2. Spermatic Artery; 3. Vas Aberrans; 
4. Body of Epididymis; 5. Globus Minor; 6. Rete Testis; 
7. Mediastinum; 8. Vasa Recta; 10. Tunica Vaginalis ; 13. 
Tunica Albuginea; 9. Its Septa; 11. Vasa Efferentia; 12. 
Globus Major; 14, 14. The Lobes. 



306 



APPENDIX. 




THORACIC CONTENTS. 

i. Left Auricle of Heart that receives the pure blood 
from the lungs; 2. Right Auricle that receives the impure 
blood from every part of the body; 3. Left Ventricle that 
pumps the pure blood to every part of the body; 4. Right 
Ventricle that pumps the impure blood to the lungs; 5. 
Pulmonary Artery; 6. Aorta; 7. Vein emptying impure 
blood into the right auricle; 8, 9, 10. Arteries; n. Wind- 
pipe; 12. Larynx. 



APPENDIX. 



307 




THE LUNGS. 



a, Windpipe; b, Bifurcation of windpipe; <:,<:, c, The three 
lobes of the right lung; d, Base of lung; e, e, e, Bronchial 
tubes. 



3 o8 



APPENDIX. 




EXTERNAL VIEW OF BRAIN. 



a, Muscle covering skull turned back; b, Membrane 
covering brain ; c, d and e, Convolutions of the brain. 



APPENDIX. 



309 




HUMAN SKELETON. 



<z, a, Backbone ; b, b, Humeri ; d, e, The two bones 
below the elbow; /, The wrist; g, Bones of finger and 
thumb ; s, s and w form the pelvis ; w, The sacrum ; x, Breast 
bone or sternum ; t, Thigh bone or femur ; n, m, The two 
bones below the knee ; 0, Ankle ; p, Bones of the toes ; y, 
Clavicle or collar bone ; r, r, Ribs ; A, Head of femur or 
thigh bone. 



GLOSSARY. 



Abscess, a cavity containing pus. 

Aberration, deviation from a straight line. 

Abnormal, irregular, deformed. 

Acid, a sour substance, a neutralizer of alkalies. 

Albuminous, resembling the white of an egg. 

Alimentiveness, desire for food. 

Alkali, anything that neutralizes acids. 

Alchemist, the chemist of olden times. 

Amativeness, love of the opposite sex. 

Antiphlogistic, opposed to congestion or inflammation. 

Antimony, the base of tartar emetic. 

Anodyne, that which allays pain. 

Anemia, a condition in which the blood is thin. 

Analogue, a like or corresponding term. 

Anaesthetic, anything similar to chloroform in action. 

Apex, the summit or top of anything. 

Aphthous, pertaining to thrush. 

Aqueous, watery in nature. 

Atony, debility, want of tone. 

Atrophied, become smaller than usual. 

Auxiliary, helping, aiding, assisting. 

Billeted, quartered, furnished lodgings. 

Blonde, light hair and blue eyes. 

Botany, science of plants. 

Bronchial, belonging to ramifications of windpipe. 

Brunette, brown or dark complexion. 

Cadaverous, resembling a dead person. 

Calculi, concretions formed around a nucleus. 

Carbonic Acid, composed of carbon, one part; oxygen, two 

parts. 
Caustic, that which burns or destroys texture. 
Casualty, accident, emergency. 



G LOS SARI'. 311 

Calcareous, containing lime. 

Cantharides, Spanish flies. 

Capillaries, the hair-like tubes connecting the arteries and 

veins. 
Caseum, that from which cheese is formed. 
Celestial, belonging to the visible heavens. 
Cervix, the neck ; cervix uteri, neck of the womb. 
Cherubim, an order of angels. 
Chancre, a venereal ulcer. 

Cholagogue, anything that increases the flow of bile. 
Chlorosis, scientific name for green sickness. 
Clitoris, small organ in female, analogue of penis. 
Clairvoyant, discerning objects not perceptible by the 

senses. 
Coccyx, small bone at lower extremity of the sacrum. 
Cosmetic, that which beautifies the complexion. 
Cocoon-, the case that contains the larva? or grub. 
Coalescing, uniting, growing together. 
Cornua, (cornua of the womb is where the fallopian tubes 

empty.) 
Condiments, seasonings, as pepper and mustard. 
Colostrum, the first milk secreted after confinement. 
Coagula, clots of blood. 
Coterie, circle of persons who meet socially. 
Coition, sexual intercourse. 
Cul-de-sac, a cavity open only at one end. 

Decalogue, the ten commandments. 
Defecation, act of voiding faeces. 
Deleterious, injurious, pernicious. 
Diagnose, to determine the nature. 
Diuretic, increasing the flow of urine. 
Diathesis, bodily state or constitution. 
Discutient, that which disperses, scatters. 
Drastic, that which purges quickly and thoroughly. 
Duplicated, copied, transcribed. 
Dysmenorrhcea, painful or difficult menstruation. 

Eclampsy, a symptom of epilepsy. 

Empirical, wanting in science. 

Embryo, first rudiments of an organized being. 

Emmenagogue, medicines that produce monthly flow. 



312 GLOSS ART. 

Endemic, local in their origin. 

Enceinte, pregnant. 

Epidemic, affecting a great number, prevalent. 

Ergot, popular name is spurred rye. 

Eructation, act of belching. 

Ethics, rules of duty. 

Evolution, act of evolving, developing. 

Excrescence, a morbid outgrowth. 

Exsanguine, bloodless, pale, death-like. 

Extruding, throwing out, expelling. 

Extra-uterine, outside of the womb. 

Expectorant, medicine that promotes discharges from lungs. 

Expedite, to hasten. 

Fauna, the animals of a region. 

Faeces, evacuations from the bowels. 

Fecundating, fertilizing, imparting life. 

Fissiparous, reproducing by splitting. 

Fimbriated, having the border fringe-like. 

Flora, list of plants. 

Flexions, foldings. 

Fluctuate, to move in waves. 

Fossils, extinct animal and vegetable remains in the rocks. 

Follicles, glands, cavities. 

Foeticide, one who murders the foetus. 

Freak, caprice, pranks, whims. 

Frigidity, coldness, indifference. 

Function, the office. 

Fundus, base, as fundus of the uterus. 

Gestation, the pregnant state. 

Geologist, one versed in geology. 

Glottis, the narrow opening at upper part of larynx. 

Guy ropes, ropes attached to steady anything. 

Hemorrhage, flow of blood. 

Hermaphrodite, a being in whom both sexes are mani- 
fested. 
Hive syrup, a standard cough syrup. 
Horticulturist, a gardener. 
Hybrid, a mongrel, a niule. 
Hydra, fresh-water polyp. 



GLOSS ART. 313 

Hypertrophy, excessive growth. 
Hygienic, pertaining to health. 

Idiosyncrasies, peculiarities. 
Iliac, pertaining to the groin. 
Impacted, pressed firmly together. 
Impotence, inability, defect of power. 
Imperforate, having no opening. 
Intractable, incurable. 
Inguinal, relating to the groin. 
Indices, those things that point out. 
Incestuous, guilty of incest. 
Infusoria, microscopic animals. 
Infinitesimal, infinitely small. 
In situ, in its place. 
Iritis, inflammation of the iris. 

Lancinating, tearing, lacerating. 

Lachrymal, relating to tears. 

Lambdoidal, resembling the Greek letter lambda. 

Larder, a pantry. 

Leucorrhcea, scientific name for the whites. 

Lotion, a healing application in fluid form. 

Lumbago, rheumatism in small of the back. 

Mammalia, animals producing their young alive. 
Marasmus, a wasting away. 
Maternal, pertaining to the mother. 
Mammary, relating to the breasts. 
Malignant, threatening a fatal issue. 
Masturbation, self-pollution, self-abuse. 

Menstruation, monthly flowing. 

Meconium, the first faeces of infants. 

Metaphysical, pertaining to mind. 

Metamorphosis, change of form. 

Medusae, sea nettles, jelly fishes. 

Modus operandi, mode of operating. 

Morbid, diseased. 

Mucilaginous, resembling mucilage. 

Mucous, secreting mucus. 

Municipal, pertaining to corporation or city. 



3H GLOSS ART. 

N/Evi materni, mothers' marks, fancy spots. 
Nauseate, to produce desire to vomit. 
Narcotic, producing sleep. 
Normal, natural, healthy. 
Nymph^e, inner lip of the vulva. 

Obstetrician, one who practices midwifery. 
Occlude, to close up. 

Omne vivum ex ovo, everything living from an egg. 
Ovary, organ in the female that forms the eggs. 
Oviduct, duct that conveys the egg. 
Oviparous, producing young by eggs. 
Ovulation, the act of extruding eggs. 
Oxygenation, purification. 

Pabulum, food, sustenance. 

Paralysis, palsy, loss of voluntary motion. 

Pandora's box, a fabled box of innumerable evils. 

Parturient, giving birth. 

Palliative, soothing, quieting. 

Parietes, walls. 

Panaceas, cure-all medicines. 

Papillae, nipple-shaped elevations. 

Parturition, childbirth. 

Pathology, the science of disease. 

Perineum, space between the genital organ and anus. 

Penis, male organ of generation. 

Peritoneum, a serous membrane, lining abdominal organs. 

Phthisis, consumption. 

Phagedenic, spreading, eating, obstinate. 

Plethora, superabundance of blood. 

Placenta, the afterbirth. 

Polyp, a low order of animal, vegetable in form. 

Prone, lying face downward. 

Pro tempore, for the time being. 

Prostate gland, small gland at root of penis. 

Prognose, to predict, foretell. 

Pro re nata, as the case requires. 

Puerperal, pertaining to childbirth. 

Pus, a creamy liquid of morbid origin. 

Psychical, pertaining to the soul or mind. 



GLOSS ART. 315 

Quickening, first sensation of foetal motion. 
Quadruplets, four at one birth. 

Refrigerant, cooling. 

Recumbent, lying on the back. 

Recto-vaginal, between rectum and vagina. 

Rectum, the lower bowel. 

Rouge, a cosmetic giving a red color. 

Salivation, increased flow of saliva. 

Sagittal, straight like an arrow. 

Sanguineous, resembling blood. 

Santonine, a vegetable vermifuge. 

Scrotum, sac containing the testicles. 

Sebaceous, producing waxy or oily secretions. 

Sexual, pertaining to sex. 

Sinus, a canal, a groove. 

Sitz bath, hip bath — see index. 

Sloughing, separating dead from the living. 

Spermatozoa, minute animals in the semen. 

Sperms, spermatozoa. 

Sphincter Ani, the constrictor muscle of anus. 

Spermatorrhea, involuntary seminal emissions. 

Sterility, barrenness. 

Stoics, a peculiar class of philosophers. 

Stethoscope, instrument used in diagnosing disease. 

Superfgetation, a second conception after a prior one. 

Sulphate of zinc, white vitriol. 

Synonyms, words that are equivalent. 

Syncope, fainting. ■ 

Testes, organs that secrete the semen. 

Tincture of opium, laudanum. 

Topical, limited, local. 

Torpor, laziness, inactivity. 

Trocar, surgical instrument used in tapping. 

Thyroid gland, the gland that is enlarged in goitre. 

Thwarting, opposing. 

Umbilicus, the navel. 
Urachus, a fcetal organ. 



3 l ^ PHENOMENA OF DISEASE. 

Urethra, canal through which urine passes from the blad- 
der. f 
Uterus, the womb. 

Varicose, permanently dilated. 

VesicuLjE seminales, organs at base of bladder. 

Vesication, act of blistering. 

Virus, poison, that which infects. 

Vicarious, performing another's office. 

Villi, minute elevations. 

Viviparous, producing young alive. 

Viscus, organ. 

Vitelline, pertaining to the yolk. 

Vulva, external organ of generation of female. 




GENERAL INDEX. 



Abortion 152 

Abscess of breast 102 

Adam's command 148 

After-pains and cure 100 

Afterbirth 60 

Amativeness, its office 132 

Amenorrhoea and cure 186 

Amniotic liquid 63 

Aphthous sore mouth 264 

Areolar change 83 

Bag of waters ... 62 

Beef tea and essence 286 

Binder for mother 99 

Birthright, child's 134 

Bladder, irritable 250 

Born with a veil 91 

Bruises and cure 284 

Burns and cure 2S1 

Caesarian section 161 

Cancer of womb 214 

Childbirth 86 

Chlorosis and cure 196 

Colic in children 265 

Conception 164, 53 

Conjugal mates 136 

Convalescence from labor.. 100 

Constipation and cure 240 

Corpora lutea 44 

Cramps in pregnancy 225 

Croup and cure 267 

Cure-all nostrums 168 

Diarrhoea in child.... 271 

Diphtheria and cure 269 

Diseases of women 173 

Divorces, cause 133 

Dosing the infant 157 

Dress for child 271 



Dripping sheet 289. 

Dropsy, uterine 199 

Dropsy, ovarian 220 

Drowning 276 

Dwarfs, whims concerning, 128 

Egg's journey. 45 

Everyday emergencies .... 272 
Examination, how made 93 

Faith cures 124, 125 

Female generative organs.. 36 

Fits, how treated 275 

Flooding, how to stop 97 

Flowers, their office 28 

Foetal development 55 

Foetal circulation 61 

Fontanelles 167 

Frog baby's history 129 

Frost bite, cure 2S3 

Girls, educating 175 

Gonorrhoea and cure 228 

Gonorrhoea in female 231 

Gravel and cure 247 

Headache and cure 224 

Hemorrhage 273 

Hereditary influences 131 

Hermaphrodite 33. 

Hygiene of childhood 261 

Hour-glass contraction 160 

Household recipes 286 

Husbands' duty 117 

Hydatids 166 

Hymen, what is it ? 37 

Impotence of male 108 

Intermarriage 143 

Kiesteine S4 



3i8 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Labor pains 90 

Lactation, its derangements, 101 

Leucorrhcea 105, 107, 180 

Lightning stroke 282 

Married, but not mated 140 

Masturbation, its effects 254 

Menstruation 76 

Milk leg and cure 226 

Miscarriage and its dangers. 154 

Moles, how formed 166 

Monsters, how formed 127 

Morning sickness 223 

Mothers' marks 123, 156 

" desire children. .. . 150 

" have whole say... 147 

" relation to child. . . 145 

Nausea and cure 82 

Nausea 223 

Nursing 158 

Nurse's duties 87 

Offspring limited 146 

Offspring, how to beget. . 1 19, 121 

Onanism 254 

Ovary, its structure ........ 43 

Ovarian disorders 216 

Ovaries hypertrophied. .... . 217 

" absent 216 

" dropsical 21S 

Ovariotomy 221 

Oxalate of lime deposit 249 

Parentage 116 

Phosphatic deposit 249 

Physometra 19S 

Piles and treatment 242 

Piles, radical cure 245' 

Plants, how fecundated 30 

Placenta, its adhesions 96 

Placenta, how removed 95 

Placenta, its structure 5S 

Polypus of womb 212 

Poisons and antidotes 279 

Pregnancy, its duration 73 

Pregnancy, abnormal 69 

Precaution against disease. . 178 

Pruritus of vulva 179 

Puberty, its arrival 74 

Puerperal mania 227 



Quickening 56, 166 

Rectum diseases 240 

Reproductive facts ^2 

Scalds and cure 281 

Semen, its composition 49 

Serpent bites 278 

Sexual evolution 34 

Sex, how to control 112 

Sex, none existing 35 

Sex, when manifested ^ 

Shock of injury 277 

Siamese Twins 66 

Signs of pregnancy 81 

" labor 88 

" " health 260 

" " disease 261 

Sitz bath, how taken 287 

Sore mouth and cure 263 

" nipples and cure 103 

Sperm, its journey 50 

Spermatorrhoea and cure.. . . 257 

Sprains and cure 284 

Sterility and causes 109 

Sunstroke and cure 2S5 

Super fcetation — what is it?. 66 

Syncope 275 

Syphilis and cure 232 

" in female 236 

" in infants 238 

Temperaments 137 

Testicles, their structure. ... 48 

Tight lacing, ill effects 177 

Toothache of pregnancy.. . . 226 

Thrush and cure 263 

Tumor, Fibroid 207 

" Cauliflower 214 

Turn of life 79 

Twins 155 

" and their formation. . 65 

Umbilical cord 61 

Urine, retention in male .... 251 

" " " female . . . 252 

Urination, involuntary. 252 

" painful 253 

Urinary organs, diseases . . . 247 

Uric acid deposits 247 

Uterus, its office 39 



GENERAL INDEX. 



I 9 



Vagina plugging 98 

Varicose veins 225 

Venereal diseases 2 28 

Vomiting, its cure 82 

Wakefulness and cure 224 

Wet sheet packing 288 

Wetting the bed 270 

Whites, vaginal, cure 181 



Wine whey 287 

" uterine and cure 183 

Womb anteversion 202 

" retroversion 203 

" anteflexion 205 

" retroflexion 205 

Women more virtuous 149 

Worms, how treated 266 




CARD TO THE PUBLIC. 



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Medically or Phrenologically, should 

address their letters to 

BOX 526, CHICAGO, ILL. 

All communications will be promptly answered. No charge 
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